Luengue-Luiana National Park
Key Facts
Countries
Angola
Area
22 732 km²
Management Model
Protected Area Co-management – under feasibility assessment
Luengue-Luiana National Park spans 22 732 km² in south-eastern Angola, across a vast landscape of open woodlands, savannas and wetlands along the Cuando River. It is Angola’s largest protected area and one of the largest protected areas in Africa.
The park forms part of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA), the world’s largest terrestrial transboundary conservation landscape, stretching across Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. KAZA supports the world’s largest population of savanna elephants, estimated at around 228 000 animals. Yet their distribution is highly uneven: around 95% occur in Botswana, Namibia and Zimbabwe, while Angola and Zambia together support only around 5%.
This makes Luengue-Luiana important not simply because of its size, but because of the space it offers. If effectively protected and managed, the park could help restore more natural wildlife movement across KAZA while creating greater opportunities for communities to benefit from conservation. The park still supports core populations of almost all wildlife species historically found there, with the exception of rhino, providing a strong foundation for recovery if the right protection, governance and investment are put in place.
South-eastern Angola is one of the country’s least developed regions and still carries the legacy of more than 26 years of civil war, including minefields that remain in parts of the landscape. Conservation has the potential to become an economic anchor for the region, supporting livelihoods, services, infrastructure and future economic opportunities.
In April 2026, the Government of Angola and Peace Parks Foundation signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together on the future of Luengue-Luiana. The agreement began a 24-month feasibility phase to develop a park management plan, strategic business plan and long-term governance model based on a public-private partnership approach.
Focus Areas
Community benefits and local capacity
Building local capacity and exploring livelihoods and other opportunities that enable communities to benefit from a stronger protected area.
Management and governance
Developing a park management plan, strategic business plan and long-term governance model based on a public-private partnership approach.
Wildlife protection and recovery
Strengthening protection and creating the conditions for wildlife populations to recover and move more freely through the landscape.
Connectivity across KAZA
Planning for Luengue-Luiana’s long-term role as an ecological anchor within KAZA and its potential to help restore more natural wildlife movement across the wider transboundary landscape.
Long-term finance and economic opportunity
Exploring sustainable financing and investment, including the future potential of tourism, to support the park and surrounding communities over time.
Stories from Luengue-Luiana
Conservation at this scale cannot be done alone.
Long-term conservation depends on partners prepared to invest in the future of these landscapes through funding, expertise, technology and long-term commitment.