May 8, 2021 - Lake Bangweulu, Zambia

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   Zambia, DRC, Lake Bangweulu
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   The Bangweulu Wetlands, located in the upper Congo River basin in
   northern Zambia, consists of Lake Bagweulu, the adjacent Lake Walilupe,
   floodplains, seasonally flooded grasslands, woodlands and permanent
   swamps fed by seventeen rivers. Roughly the size of the US state of
   Connecticut, the wetlands provide a home to 400 bird species, including
   the amazing shoebill stork, at least 80 species of fish, and a large
   number of other animals, including the endemic and threatened type of
   antelope known as the black lechwe. Lake Bangweulu and the surrounding
   wetlands have been identified as one of the world’s most important
   wetlands by the Ramsar Convention and as an Important Bird Area (IBA)
   by BirdLife International.

   These globally important and stunning wetlands are also important to
   the local population, many who depend on the fabulous fishery the lake
   has provided for their food or livelihood. As often happens when
   people’s needs expand, the lake was becoming overfished and wildlife
   populations were dropping. In 2008, six Community Resource Boards
   (CRBs) who own the land entered into a long-term agreement with the
   Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), coming together to
   sustainably manage and protect their natural assets in a way that would
   also provide long-term sustainability for people. Bangweulu is now a
   community-owned protected wetland made up of Game Management Areas and
   is legally home to 50,000 people who retain the right to sustainably
   harvest its natural resources. Under the watchful communal management
   system, fish stocks have rebounded in Lake Bangweulu, bushmeat poaching
   has been strongly reduced, and the population of black lechwe has risen
   from 35,000 to 50,000. The beauty and diversity of the ecosystem, along
   with increasing populations of birds and animals, has strengthened
   ecotourism, adding to the economy and welfare of the people of the
   region.

   On May 7, 2021, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
   (MODIS) on board NASA’s Terra satellite acquired a true-color image of
   Lake Bangweulu and surrounding flood plains and wetlands. The gray
   smudge to the west of Lake Bangweulu is the city of Mansa, the capital
   of the Luapula Province of Zambia.

   Image Facts
   Satellite:  Terra
   Date Acquired: 5/7/2021
   Resolutions:  1km (264.4 KB),  500m (670.4 KB),  250m (280 KB)
   Bands Used: 1,4,3
   Image Credit: MODIS Land Rapid Response Team, NASA GSFC



https://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/gallery/individual.php?db_date=2021-05-08
 
