Project Title: Land Use Management for Sustainable Development in Bangweulu Wetlands
Component: Land Use Plan (LUP)
Location: Bangweulu Wetlands, Zambia
Lead Implementer: African Parks – Bangweulu Wetlands
Partners: Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources, Ministry of Tourism, Local Councils, WeForest, Community Resource Boards (CRBs), NGOs, Academic Institutions
1. Background
The Bangweulu Wetlands comprise a complex landscape of miombo and termitaria woodlands, dambos, seasonally inundated floodplains, and riparian ecosystems. These habitats support diverse wildlife, critical ecological functions, and the livelihoods of communities residing across six chiefdoms. However, increasing pressures including expanding settlements, deforestation, agricultural encroachment, unmanaged fires, and unsustainable resource harvesting are intensifying competition for land and natural resources.
Previous zoning under the General Management Plan did not adequately integrate actual land-use patterns, customary practices, power dynamics or community-defined rights. There is therefore a pressing need for a Land Use Plan (LUP) that indicates community acceptance, sensitive to potential disputes, and adheres to statutory requirements. The Plan should reflect the lived realities of land access and use, and balances ecological integrity with community development priorities.
This consultancy aims to support a participatory, negotiated, phased and adaptive land-use planning process. The LUP is not conceived as a static document but an ongoing process that needs agreement from stakeholders, regular reviews, and updates as situations change. A foundational participatory assessment will inform the zoning and planning outputs.
2. Objectives
- Facilitate a community-driven and negotiated Land Use Planning process that results in a widely accepted, legally aligned and ecologically appropriate LUP for the Bangweulu Wetlands.
- Conduct participatory land-use mapping across all six chiefdoms, documenting present land uses including settlements, agriculture, fishing areas, forest areas, grazing and seasonal activities.
- Identify and categorize key user groups associated with each land-use type and document the customary and statutory rights under which land and resources are accessed.
- Clarify current land utilization patterns affecting wildlife conservation, fisheries, forestry, and agriculture, including areas of conflict or overlap.
- Produce preliminary and final land-use maps forming the technical backbone of the LUP.
- Facilitate multi-stakeholder dialogue and negotiation sessions to build shared agreements on zoning and future land-use arrangements.
3. Scope of Work
The consultant shall conduct the following tasks:
3.1 Participatory Land-Use Mapping
- Facilitate community consultations in all six chiefdoms using FPIC principles.
- Identify and map current land-use categories
- Document traditional governance systems relevant to land allocation, access rights, and resource control.
- Map stakeholder/ user groups and the nature of their customary or formal rights for each land-use category.
- Conduct a power analysis to identify influential actors, marginalized groups, and potential conflict drivers.
3.2. Spatial Data Collection and Analysis
- Conduct GPS/GIS-based data capture and spatial analysis.
- Integrate demographic data, land pressure indicators, historical land change, and ecological sensitivity datasets.
- Produce digitized land-use layers depicting actual land-use patterns
- Conduct suitability and constraints analysis to inform zoning recommendations.
3.3. Land Use Planning and Zoning
- Translate participatory mapping outputs into zoning options (e.g., conservation, settlement expansion, agricultural zones, grazing areas, development areas, culturally significant areas).
- Facilitate multi-stakeholder negotiation processes to build consensus around proposed zones and permitted uses.
- Facilitate development of zoning guidelines aligned with ecological priorities, customary land rights, statutory requirements, and conflict-sensitive principles.
- Draft planning guidelines indicating permitted, restricted and conditional uses in each zone.
3.4. Stakeholder Engagement and Validation
- Convene validation workshops with chiefdom leadership, CRBs, DNPW, local councils, and other relevant departments.
- Facilitate consensus-building to harmonize land-use expectations and address areas of disagreement.
- Incorporate stakeholder feedback into the zoning outputs and planning framework.
3.5. Final LUP Development
- Produce a consolidated analysis of existing land use, tenure arrangements, power dynamics and zones of potential conflict.
- Facilitate development of a draft and final Land Use Plan
4. Key Deliverables
- Inception Report outlining methodology, stakeholder engagement plan, conflict-aware approach and proposed timeline.
- Participatory Mapping Report summarizing methods, mapped data, stakeholder inputs and power analyses.
- Spatial Land-Use Database with georeferenced land-use categories, stakeholder groups, rights, and areas of conflict or overlap.
- Six (6) Land-Use Maps (one per chiefdom) depicting current land use and access rights.
- Draft Zoning Maps and Planning Guidelines produced through negotiated stakeholder processes.
- Stakeholder Validation Report documenting inputs and agreements.
- Final Land Use Plan outlining zoning arrangements, planning guidelines,conflict-management procedures and a system for continuous improvement and adaptation.
5. Required Qualifications of Consultant/Team
- A Master’s degree or higher in Land Use Planning, Environmental Science, Geography, Natural Resource Management, Forestry, or related fields.
- Minimum of 7 years' experience in community-based land-use planning or spatial planning.
- Demonstrated expertise in participatory rural appraisal (PRA), community consultation, and FPIC methodologies.
- Advanced GIS and remote sensing skills, including multi-layer spatial analysis.
- Strong understanding of customary land tenure systems and traditional governance.
- Familiarity with Zambia’s legal and policy framework on land tenure, natural resources, and traditional authority structures.
6. Management and Reporting Structure
The consultant will report directly to African Parks - Bangweulu Wetlands, with technical oversight from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) under the Ministry of Tourism. Coordination will include CRBs, district authorities, and relevant government ministries.
7. Ethical and Safeguarding Considerations
- Adherence to FPIC principles throughout all engagement processes.
- Protection of sensitive information related to land rights and resource access.
- Gender-responsive, inclusive, and culturally appropriate methodologies.
- Explicit attention to power dynamics, ensuring that marginalized groups (women, youth, minority user groups) have meaningful participation.
- Avoidance of processes that reinforce power imbalances or exclude weaker stakeholder groups.
- Ethical data collection, storage, and use.
Application Process
Interested consultants are invited to submit:
