Editing Zambezi (section)

==Ecology==
[[File:STS51B-51-14- Lake Cahora Bassa.jpg|thumb|[[Lake Cahora Bassa]] in Mozambique, one of the river's major sources of hydroelectric energy]]

===Pollution===
Sewage [[effluent]] is a major cause of water [[pollution]] around urban areas, as inadequate [[Water treatment|water-treatment facilities]] in all the major cities of the region release untreated sewage into the river. This has resulted in [[eutrophication]] of the river water and has facilitated the spread of diseases of poor hygiene such as [[cholera]], [[typhus]], and [[dysentery]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Herbig |first=Friedo J. W. |date=2019-01-01 |editor-last=Meissner |editor-first=Richard |title=Talking dirty - effluent and sewage irreverence in South Africa: A conservation crime perspective |journal=Cogent Social Sciences |volume=5 |issue=1 |pages=1701359 |doi=10.1080/23311886.2019.1701359 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

===Effects of dams===
The construction of two major dams regulating the flow of the river has had a major effect on wildlife and human populations in the lower Zambezi region. When the Cahora Bassa Dam was completed in 1973, its managers allowed it to fill in a single flood season, going against recommendations to fill over at least two years. The drastic reduction in the flow of the river led to a 40% reduction in the coverage of mangroves, greatly increased erosion of the coastal region and a 60% reduction in the catch of [[prawn]]s off the mouth because of the reduction in emplacement of [[silt]] and associated nutrients. Wetland ecosystems downstream of the dam shrank considerably. Wildlife in the delta was further threatened by uncontrolled hunting during the civil war in Mozambique.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zambezi River Tourist Information |url=https://www.touristlink.com/africa/zambezi-river/overview.html |access-date=2021-05-22 |website=www.touristlink.com |language=en-US |archive-date=28 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220128075009/https://www.touristlink.com/africa/zambezi-river/overview.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Isaacman |first1=Allen |last2=Sneddon |first2=Chris |date=2000 |title=Toward a Social and Environmental History of the Building of Cahora Bassa Dam |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637563 |journal=Journal of Southern African Studies |volume=26 |issue=4 |pages=597–632 |doi=10.1080/713683608 |jstor=2637563 |s2cid=153574634 |issn=0305-7070 |access-date=20 May 2021 |archive-date=20 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210520115757/https://www.jstor.org/stable/2637563 |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Conservation measures===
The proposed [[Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area]] was to cover parts of Zambia, Angola, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana, including the Okavango Delta in Botswana and Victoria Falls. Funding was boosted for cross-border conservation along the Zambezi in 2008. The project received a grant of €8 million from a German nongovernmental organisation. Part of the funds are to be used for research in areas covered by the project. However, Angola has warned that landmines from their civil war may impede the project.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.scidev.net/global/news/sub-saharan-africa-news-in-brief-13-25-march/ |title=Sub-Saharan Africa news in brief: 13–25 March |access-date=17 August 2021 |archive-date=21 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521215431/http://www.scidev.net/en/sub-suharan-africa/news/sub-saharan-africa-news-in-brief-13-25-march.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The river currently passes through Ngonye Falls National Park, [[Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park]], and [[Lower Zambezi National Park]] (in Zambia), and the [[Zambezi National Park]], [[Victoria Falls National Park]], [[Matusadona National Park]], [[Mana Pools National Park]], and the [[Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve]] (in Zimbabwe).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Zambezi River 2017 {{!}} Lensman - Lennart Hessel Photography |url=https://www.lensman.se/portfolios/zambezi-river-2017/ |access-date=2024-05-11 |website=Lensman |language=en-GB}}</ref>

===Fish stocks management===
As of 2017, the situation of overfishing in the upper Zambezi and its tributaries was considered dire, in part because of weak enforcement of the respective fisheries acts and regulations. The fish stocks of Lake Liambezi in the eastern Caprivi Strip were found to be depleted, and surveys indicated a decline in the whole Zambezi-Kwando-Chobe River system. [[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing|Illegal fishing]] (by foreign nationals employed by [[Namibian]]s) and commercially minded individuals, exploited the resources to the detriment of local markets and the communities whose culture and economy depend on these resources.<ref name="tn">{{cite web |last1=Kooper |first1=Lugeretzia |title=Zambezi fishermen warned against overfishing |url=http://www.namibian.com.na/166137/archive-read/Zambezi-fishermen-warned-against-overfishing |website=namibian.com.na |publisher=The Namibian |date=2017-06-23 |access-date=24 July 2017 |archive-date=5 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170905010246/https://www.namibian.com.na/166137/archive-read/Zambezi-fishermen-warned-against-overfishing |url-status=live }}</ref>

Namibian officials have consequently banned [[Monofilament fishing line|monofilament]] nets and imposed a closing period of about 3 months every year to allow the fish to breed. They also appointed village fish guards and the Kayasa Channel in the [[Impalila]] conservancy area was declared a fisheries reserve. The Namibian ministry also promotes aquaculture and plans to distribute thousands of fingerlings to registered small-scale fish farmers of the region.<ref name="tn"/>

===EUS outbreak===
In September 2007, [[epizootic]] ulcerative syndrome (EUS) killed hundreds of sore-covered fish in the river. Zambia agriculture minister Ben Kapita asked experts to investigate the outbreak to probe the cause to find out if the disease can be transmitted to humans.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200709/ai_n19522812 |title=Zambia warns against fish killed by mysterious disease |agency=Agence France-Presse |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122212855/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_kmafp/is_200709/ai_n19522812 |archive-date=22 January 2009}}</ref>