Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas World Heritage Site

The Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas World Heritage Site is an area of dramatic landscape and ecological processes. Physically protected by the Zambezi River to the north and the steep escarpment (which rises to over 1,000 m from the valley floor) to the south, this substantial property of 676,600 ha provides shelter for immense congregations of Africa's large mammal populations which concentrate in its flood plains. The Mana Pools are former channels of the Zambezi River, and ongoing geological processes present a good example of erosion and deposition by a large seasonal river including a clear pattern of plant succession on its alluvial deposits. While black rhino has disappeared since the property's inscription, huge herds of elephant and buffalo, followed by zebra, waterbuck and many other antelope species and their associated predators including lion and hyena migrate to the area each year during the dry winter months.

Continent: Africa

Country: Zimbabwe

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII) (IX)(X)

Date of Inscription: 1984

The Mana Pools River Species

The river is also famous for its sizeable numbers of hippopotamus and Nile crocodile. Resident and migratory birdlife, with over 450 species recorded, is also abundant. Controlled hunting on quota is permitted in the safari areas. The annual congregation of animals in riparian parkland alongside the broad Zambezi constitutes one Africa's outstanding wildlife spectacles. The 'sand-bank' environment constitutes a good example of erosion and deposition by a large seasonal river (despite changes in river flow due to the Kariba Dam). There is a clear pattern of vegetation succession on the alluvial deposits. Seasonal movements of large mammals within the valley are of great ecological interest both because of interspecies and intraspecies differences.

The Elephant

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Shelter for wild animals

At time of inscription the justification for this criterion was that the area is one of the most important refuges for black rhino in Africa as well as a number of other species considered threatened at that time. Today, the black rhino has now disappeared from the reserve although the property still contains important populations of threatened species including elephant and hippopotamus, as well as other threatened species such as lion, cheetah and wild dog. Leopard and brown hyena, classified as near threatened, and a large population of Nile crocodile, are also protected within the property. The area is also considered an important refuge for a number of plants and birds.

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Three Combined Areas

The property is composed of three contiguous protected areas comprising the Mana Pools National Park (219,600 ha), Sapi Safari Area (118,000 ha) and Chewore Safari Area (339,000 ha) covering an entire area of 676,600 ha. Three other contiguous conservation areas, although not included in the property, include the Urungwe Safari Area (287,000 ha), Dande Safari Area (52,300 ha) and the Doma Safari Area (76,400 ha). In addition the Lower Zambezi National Park in Zambia (409,200 ha) is contiguous on the opposite bank of the river. It is considered that the property is relatively intact and adequately sized to maintain natural and functional ecological processes as well as to capture its natural and aesthetic values. Natural barriers created by the Zambezi River to the north and the steep escarpment to the south protect the property from environmental damage and alternative land uses. There is no permanent human habitation within the property.

The greatest threat to the integrity of the property is that the ecology of the river is dominated by the regulating effect of the Kariba Dam. There is also continued threat of the construction of another dam along the Zambezi River in the Mapata Gorge, which would effectively negate the major value of the area. The possibility of oil prospection within the reserve has also been raised.

When the property was inscribed in 1984 it contained about 500 black rhino, although due to poaching by the end of 1994 only ten animals remained. These were removed for safekeeping elsewhere, but poaching remains a problem for rhino re-introduction as well as for other species such as elephant.

Requirement of Protection

The property is legally managed by the Lower Zambezi Valley Parks and Wildlife Area Policy and the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Act Cap. 20: 14 of 2008 (revised). This principal legislation provides for legal protection of the resources within the property. The property has a well-defined and buffered boundary which requires physical demarcation. Each of the three areas has functional Park Integrated Management Plans which require adequate staffing and resources for their implementation. A system of regular monitoring of the natural values of the property and on-going programmes to maintain habitats and landforms in their natural state, avoid disturbance and other impacts on wildlife, and to preserve the aesthetic values are in place.

The property requires a World Heritage Property Integrated Management Plan to ensure long term priority for the protection of the natural values and to guard against encroachments and impacts from sport hunting (Sapi Safari Area), poaching, boating along the Zambezi, fishing, campsites/chalets for tourists and other inappropriate development. Management of visitor use to both prevent negative impacts and provide opportunities to experience the value of the property in a sustainable manner is a long-term requirement for the property. Plans are underway to declare the Mana Pools (Zimbabwe) and the Lower Zambezi National Park (Zambia) as a Transfrontier Park which will strengthen the management of the entire area.

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World Heritage Great Zimbabwe National Monument

Great Zimbabwe National Monument is approximately 30 km from Masvingo and located in the lowveld at an altitude of some 1100 m in a sparsely populated region of the Bantu/Shona people. The property, built between 1100 and 1450 AD, extends over almost 800 ha and is divided into three groups: the Hill Ruins, the Great Enclosure and the Valley Ruins. The Hill Ruins, forming a huge granite mass atop a spur facing north-east/south-west, were continuously inhabited from the 11th to 15th centuries, and there are numerous layers of traces of human settlements. Rough granite rubble-stone blocks form distinct enclosures, accessed by narrow, partly covered, passageways. This acropolis is generally considered a 'royal city'; the west enclosure is thought to have been the residence of successive chiefs and the east enclosure, where six steatite upright posts topped with birds were found, considered to serve a ritual purpose.

Continent: Africa

Country: Zimbabwe

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (I)(III) (VI)

Date of Inscription: 1986

The uniqueness of huts

The Great Enclosure, which has the form of an ellipsis, is located to the south of the hills and dates to the 14th century. It was built of cut granite blocks, laid in regular courses, and contains a series of daga-hut living quarters, a community area, and a narrow passage leading to a high conical tower. The bricks (daga) were made from a mixture of granitic sand and clay. Huts were built within the stone enclosure walls; inside each community area other walls mark off each family's area, generally comprising a kitchen, two living huts and a court.

Great Zimbabwe National Monument

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Huts decorations

The Valley Ruins are a series of living ensembles scattered throughout the valley which date to the 19th century. Each ensemble has similar characteristics: many constructions are in brick (huts, indoor flooring and benches, holders for recipients, basins, etc.) and dry stone masonry walls provide insulation for each ensemble. Resembling later developments of the Stone Age, the building work was carried out to a high standard of craftsmanship, incorporating an impressive display of chevron and chequered wall decorations.

Scientific research has proved that Great Zimbabwe was founded in the 11th century on a site which had been sparsely inhabited in the prehistoric period, by a Bantu population of the Iron Age, the Shona. In the 14th century, it was the principal city of a major state extending over the gold-rich plateaux; its population exceeded 10,000 inhabitants. About 1450, the capital was abandoned because the hinterland could no longer furnish food for the overpopulated city and because of deforestation. The resulting migration benefited Khami, which became the most influential city in the region, but signaled waning political power. When in 1505 the Portuguese settled in Sofala, the region was divided between the rival powers of the kingdoms of Torwa and Mwene-Mutapa.

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Archaeological excavations have revealed glass beads and porcelain from China and Persia, and gold and Arab coins from Kilwa which testify to the extent of long-standing trade with the outer world. Other evidence, including potsherds and ironware, gives a further insight to the property's socio-economic complexity and about farming and pastoral activities. Monumental granite cross, located at a traditionally revered and sacred spiritual site, also illustrates community contact with missionaries.

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Khami Ruins National Monument Zimbabwe

Khami Ruins National Monument is located to the west of the Khami River, 22 km from the City of Bulawayo. The property, located on a 1300 m hilltop downstream from a dam built during 1928-1929, covers an area of about 108 ha, spread over a distance of about 2 km from the Passage Ruin to the North Ruin. The property was the capital of the Torwa dynasty, which arose from the collapse of the Great Zimbabwe Kingdom between 1450 -1650 and was abandoned during the Ndebele incursions of the 19th century. It is composed of a complex series of platforms of dry-stone walled structures, emulating a later development of Stone Age culture. The chief's residence (Mambo) was located towards the north on the Hill Ruin site with its adjacent cultivation terraces. The population lived in daga huts of cobwork, surrounded by a series of granite walls.

Continent: Africa

Country: Zimbabwe

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (III)(IV)

Date of Inscription: 1986

Khami, the stone built monument

The structures display a high standard of workmanship, a great number of narrow passageways and perambulatory galleries and impressive chevron and chequered wall decorations. Khami conforms to Great Zimbabwe in a number of archaeological and architectural aspects but it possesses certain features particular to itself and its successors such as Danangombe and Zinjanja. Revetments or retaining walls found expression for the first time in the architectural history of the sub-region at Khami, and with it were elaborate decorations; it still has the longest decorated wall in the entire sub-region. Khami is the second largest stone built monument in Zimbabwe.

Khami Ruins National Monument

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Historic Specifications

The architecture of the site and the archaeological artefacts provide evidence for an exceptional understanding of strong, united, early civilizations. They also offer information on the property's complex socio-economic, religious and spiritual significance for the local communities and for the overall chronological development of Zimbabwe tradition; initiated in Mapungubwe (South Africa), extending to Great Zimbabwe, and through the emergence of later states. The archaeological remains are also a testament to long-distance historic trade links with the Portuguese, and the wider world, the diverse range of imported artefacts provide evidence of 15th and 17th century Spanish porcelain, Rhineland stoneware and Ming porcelain, many of which are on display in the Museum of Natural History in Bulawayo. There is also a monumental granite cross which illustrates the contact with missionaries at a traditionally revered and sacred spiritual site.

Its historical importance lies in its position at the watershed between the history of Great Zimbabwe and the later Zimbabwe period. It is one of the few Zimbabwe sites that were not destroyed by treasure hunters and its undisturbed stratigraphy is scientifically important in providing a much clearer insight into the history of the country. The climate supports a natural vegetation of open woodland, dominated by Combretum and Terminalia trees. Being close to the Kalahari Desert, the area is also vulnerable to droughts, and rainfall tends to vary considerably. The property has suffered some degradation due to variations in temperature, ground water, tourism, encroaching vegetation and applied preservation techniques.

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Mosi-oa-Tunya Victoria Falls

The Mosi-oa-Tunya or Victoria Falls National Park contains one of the world's most spectacular waterfalls. The falls and associated gorges are an outstanding example of river capture and the erosive forces of the water still continue to sculpture the hard basalts. The complex of conservation areas in Zimbabwe covers over 1,846,700 ha excluding forest reserves. The park abuts Dambwa Forest Reserve in Zambia. The falls are the most significant feature of the park, and when the Zambezi is in full flood (usually February or March) they form the largest curtain of falling water in the world. During these months, over 500 million litres of water per minute go over the falls, which are 1,708 m wide, and drop 99 m at Rainbow Falls in Zambia. At low water in November flow can be reduced to around 10 million litres per minute, and the river is divided into a series of braided channels that descend in many separate falls.

Continent: Africa

Country: Zimbabwe, Natural

Category: Natural

Criterion: (VII)(VIII)

Date of Inscription: 1989

Victoria falls, the early history

Below the falls the river enters a narrow series of gorges which represent locations successively occupied by the falls earlier in their history. Since the uplifting of the Makgadikgadi Pan area some 2 million years ago, the Zambezi River has been cutting through the basalt, exploiting weak fissures and forming a series of retreating gorges. Seven previous waterfalls occupied the seven gorges below the present falls, and Devil's Cataract in Zimbabwe is the starting point for cutting back to a new waterfall that will eventually leave the present lip high above the river in the gorge below.

Victoria Falls

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The forest system

The predominant vegetation is mopane forest, with small areas of teak and miombo woodland and a narrow band of riverine forest along the Zambezi. The riverine 'rainforest' within the waterfall splash zone is of particular interest, a fragile ecosystem of discontinuous forest on sandy alluvium, dependent upon maintenance of abundant water and high humidity resulting from the spray plume. There are a lot of tree species within this forest and also some herbaceous species.

Concerning the fauna, several herds of elephant occur in Zambezi National Park, occasionally crossing to the islands and Zambian mainland during the dry season when water levels are low. There are small herds of buffalo and wildebeest, as well as zebra, warthog, giraffe, bushpig and hippopotamus are frequent above the falls. Vervet monkey and chacma baboon are common. Lion and leopard are occasionally seen. Taita falcon breeds in the gorges, as do black stork, black eagle, and peregrine falcon and augur buzzard.

Victoria Falls forms a geographical barrier between the distinct fish faunas of the upper and middle Zambezi River. 39 species of fish have been recorded from the waters below the falls.

Ethnic composition of the people living in the falls area outside the parks is a mixture of recent immigrants and long-term occupants, witnessed by stone artefacts of Homo habilis from 3 million years ago which have been found near the falls, indicating prolonged occupation of the area in the middle Stone Age. Weapons, adornments and digging tools indicate the presence of hunter-gathering communities in the late Stone Age, displaced about 2,000 years ago by farmers using iron tools, which kept livestock and lived in villages.

These are among the most spectacular waterfalls in the world. The Zambezi river, which is more than 2 km wide at this point, plunges noisily down a series of basalt gorges and raises an iridescent mist that can be seen more than 20 km away.

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Matobo Hills Zimbabwe

The Matobo Hills have one of the highest concentrations of rock art in Southern Africa. The rich evidence from archaeology and from the rock paintings at Matobo provide a very full picture of the lives of foraging societies in the Stone Age and the way agricultural societies came to replace them. The interaction between communities and the landscape, manifest in the rock art and also in the long-standing religious traditions still associated with the rocks, are community responses to a landscape. The Mwari religion, centred on Matobo, which may date back to the Iron Age, is the most powerful oracular tradition in southern Africa.

Continent: Africa

Country: Zimbabwe

Category: Cultural

Criterion: (III)(V) (VI)

Date of Inscription: 2003

The Matobo's traditional, social and economic activities

The area exhibits a profusion of distinctive rock landforms rising above the granite shield that covers much of Zimbabwe. The large boulders provide abundant natural shelters and have been associated with human occupation from the early Stone Age right through to early historical times, and intermittently since. They also feature an outstanding collection of rock paintings. The Matobo Hills continue to provide a strong focus for the local community, which still uses shrines and sacred places closely linked to traditional, social and economic activities.

Rock Paintings

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Historical background

The landscape is visually and ecologically distinguished from the surrounding dry savannah. A profusion of distinctive granite landforms, densely packed into a comparatively tight area, rise up to form a sea of hills. Their forms have resulted from the varied composition and alignment of the granites, which responded differently to millions of years of weathering, leaving inselbergs (large individual vertical rocks), kopjes, crenellated ridges, dwalas or hump-backed domes, and what look like randomly heaped boulders.

The discrete and often small sheltered spaces, formed between these dense collections of rocks, have fostered a wide variety of microclimates, allowing the development of an extremely diverse range of habitats. The resulting species rich vegetation has in turn provided much sustenance for a wide range of fauna. The valley between the rocks contains numerous streams and springs supporting a wide range of flora. Out of 189 mammal species indigenous to Zimbabwe, 88 have been recorded in the Matobo Hills, plus a further 70 pairs of bird species.

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These natural attributes have also been the dynamic focus for people living in the area since the early Stone Age. In fact within natural caves and on boulders and cliff faces are to be found a dramatic corpus of rock art.

The earlier paintings, dated back at least 13,000 years, are essentially naturalistic interpretations of people, animals and trees. They are associated with hunting and gathering and are mostly executed using a red ochre pigment, mixed with an as yet unknown binder. The later paintings associated with farming communities used white pigment from kaolin or quartz.

This distinction is common within the region, but stylistically Matobo is part of a rock-art 'region' stretching from South Africa to Tanzania. It is also impressionistic in that many of the paintings distorted body proportions to convey a sense of movement, or size to convey importance. In many sites there are layers of paintings superimposed one on top of the other. Images in the later paintings also appear to display a complex cosmology linked to religious beliefs.

An abundance of archaeological evidence has been amassed from the shelters for the Stone Age and Iron Age, which when combined has contributed a great deal to the understanding of the pre-colonial history of the region. However, the Matobo Hills also contain very important historical sites and sites from the colonial and post-colonial periods.

Matobo is the home of the wide-ranging oracular cult of the High God, Mwari, whose voice is believed to be heard from the rocks. This powerful oracle links the indigenous communities to the hills where the ancestral spirits live in sacred forest, mountains, caves, hollow trees and pools. Within the Matobo Hills, certain places have become known as shrines.

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