Cameron Bay (100534)
Zambia, Africa
Site overview
KBA status: confirmed
Global KBA criteria: B2
Year of last assessment: 2025
National site name: Cameron Bay
Central coordinates: Latitude: -8.3855, Longitude: 30.4965
System: freshwater
Elevation (m): 0.5 to 100
Area of KBA (km2): 45.05509
Protected area coverage (%): 0.51
KBA classification: Global
Legacy site: No
Site details
Site description: The Cameron Bay KBA is located along the southwestern shoreline of Lake Tanganyika and is home to multiple cichlid and sardine fish species. It encompasses around 45 km^2 in area. It occurs within the lake and is adjacent to Kaputa Game Management Area (GMA) on the land. The rocky sections along the southern part of the shoreline are separated from each other by long sandy beaches. There are hot springs called Kapisha Hot Springs near Mushi that cause a large swampy area where rice is grown. North of the swamp are cobblestone beaches that give way to steep rocky areas as you approach the border.
Rationale for qualifying as KBA: This KBA is important for the presence of multiple cichlid and Lates fish species. The site is a KBA for six trigger species, Altolamprologus calvus, Ectodus descampsii, Julidochromis dickfeldi, Neolamprologus buescheri, Neolamprologus mustax, and Neolamprologus obscurus, under KBA criterion B2.
Additional biodiversity: The KBA forms an immediate buffer with the Nsumbu national park, providing valuable growth and foraging site for small pelagics and Lates species (Lates mariae, Lates microlepis). The site is also popular to ornamental fish trade and tourism.
Manageability of the site: The area is recently having well-structured and strengthened community conservation groups under the auspices Nsumbu-Tanganyika conservation program (NTCP), at Ndole, Munjela and Mushi. Communities have created management areas within their vicinity/village catchment and established community fish breeding areas. These measures are helping in building sense of ownership among adjacent riparian communities and stock recovery in surrounding nearshore habitats.
Other site values: Waters of the Kapisha hot spring are believed to have healing power and are thus revered by local Tabwa people. Small rituals are performed around the spring.
Delineation rationale: This KBA is delineated based on the presence of multiple cichlid and Lates fish species. The southern boundary is Cape Kachese and the northern boundary is at Chibanga (the last fishing village before the Democratic Republic of Congo border). The site boundaries were delineated by The Nature Conservancy (TNC), in collaboration with IUCN, using existing spatial data and IUCN Red List data on freshwater species within the lake. Information on these draft KBAs (boundaries and accompanying datasheets with trigger species lists) was made available to stakeholders for comment through an online microsite and at the African Great Lakes Conference side event Delineation of Key Biodiversity Areas for Lake Tanganyika, held in Entebbe, Uganda in May 2017 and sponsored by The Nature Conservancy, Lake Tanganyika Authority and IUCN. The following year, a KBA delineation and validation workshop was held in May 2018 at SAGCOT Centre, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Through this workshop, information was gathered on confirmation of the presence of the KBA trigger species within the draft KBA boundaries, refinement of the boundaries based on existing management units (e.g. existing KBAs, protected areas) or focal areas for the species, and expert confirmation that the KBA trigger species occur at a level sufficient to meet the KBA thresholds.
Habitats
Land use: There is rapid urbanization around Nsumbu town and near by villages. Around Munjela and extending to Chibanga, there is presence of agricultural activities and communities are slowly expanding in size due o new settlers coming to join the Lake. There is a commercial fishing company (Mpende fisheries ltd) with commercial aquaculture infrastructure and one tourist destination at Ndole bay.
| IUCN Habitat | Coverage % | Habitat detail |
|---|---|---|
| Wetlands(Inland) | 100 |
Threats
| Threat level 1 | Threat level 2 | Threat level 3 | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agriculture & aquaculture | Annual & perennial non-timber crops | Small-holder farming | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Unintentional effects: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is not the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |
| Biological resource use | Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources | Intentional use: subsistence/small scale (species being assessed is the target) [harvest] | Ongoing |
| Pollution | Agricultural & forestry effluents | Soil erosion, sedimentation | Ongoing |