{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2023}} {{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site | image = ZmbziRvr.jpg | image_upright = 1.2 | caption = The Zambezi from Mana Pools | part_of = Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas | ID = 302 | coordinates = {{coord|15|45|S|29|20|E|display=title, inline|format=dms}} | area = {{convert|6766|km2|mi2|abbr=on}} | embedded = {{Designation list | embed = yes | designation1 = Ramsar | designation1_date = 3 May 2013 | designation1_number = 2106<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mana Pools National Park|website=Ramsar Sites Information Service|url=https://rsis.ramsar.org/ris/2106|accessdate=25 April 2018}}</ref>}} | locmapin = Zimbabwe |WHS=Mana Pools National Park|Criteria=Natural: (vii), (ix), (x)|Year=1984|Location=Zimbabwe}} '''Mana Pools National Park''' is a {{Convert|2196|km2|adj=on}} wildlife conservation area and national park in northern Zimbabwe.<ref name = "unesco">[https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/302 Mana Pools National Park, Sapi and Chewore Safari Areas], World Heritage Convention, UNESCO</ref> It is a region of the lower Zambezi in Zimbabwe where the floodplain turns into a broad expanse of lakes after each rainy season. As the lakes gradually dry up and recede, the region attracts many large animals in search of water, making it one of Africa's most renowned game-viewing regions.
The park was inscribed, in conjunction with the Sapi Safari Area ({{Convert|1180|km2|abbr=on}}) and Chewore Safari Area ({{Convert|3390|km2|abbr=on}}), as a single UNESCO World Heritage Site (for a total of {{Convert|6766|km2|abbr=on}}) in 1984.<ref name = "unesco" /> The Mana Pools were designated a Ramsar wetland of international importance on 3 January 2013.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Annotated Ramsar List: Zimbabwe |publisher=The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands |url=http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list-anno-zimbabwe/main/ramsar/1-31-218%5E26055_4000_0__ |accessdate=20 February 2013 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510124155/http://www.ramsar.org/cda/en/ramsar-documents-list-anno-zimbabwe/main/ramsar/1-31-218%5E26055_4000_0__ |archivedate=10 May 2013 }}</ref> Mana Pools National Park is a World Heritage Site based on its pure wilderness and beauty. It is home to a wide range of mammals, over 350 bird species, and aquatic wildlife and is one of the world's wildest and best preserved natural ecological areas.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2020-08-26 |title=manapools national park |url=https://visitafrica.site/destinations/experience-zimbabwe/manapools-national-park/ |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=2020-08-13 |website=visitafrica.site |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Ecology== ''Mana'' means 'four' in Shona, in reference to the four large permanent pools formed by the meanderings of the middle Zambezi. These {{cvt|2500|km2}} of river frontage, islands, sandbanks and pools, flanked by forests of mahogany, wild figs, ebonies and baobabs, is one of the least developed national parks in Southern Africa. It has the country's biggest concentration of hippopotami and crocodiles and large dry season mammal populations of the zebra, elephant and Cape buffalo. The area is also home to other threatened species including the lion, cheetah, Cape wild dog, and near-threatened species including leopard and the brown hyena.
When the area was inscribed by UNESCO, it was one of the most important refuges for eastern black rhinoceros populations in Africa, with about 500 animals. By 1994, poaching had reduced these to just 10 remaining rhinos, which were removed to another area for their protection.<ref name = "unesco" />
== Threat == The Zimbabwean Ministry of Mines and Mining Development stated on 28 April 2023, that Shalom Mining Corporation Pvt Ltd has filed for a permit to prospect for oil and natural gas in an area with extremely high conservation value adjacent to Mana Pools. If permitted to proceed, this construction might endanger the nearby World Heritage Site.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-13 |title=Oil Exploration Threatens Pristine Mana Pools in Zimbabwe |url=https://www.birdlife.org/news/2023/06/13/oil-exploration-threatens-pristine-mana-pools-in-zimbabwe/ |access-date=2023-11-05 |website=BirdLife International |language=en-GB}}</ref>
==Conservation== The area was saved from a hydro-electric scheme in the early eighties which would have seen the flooding of the area. The area's ecology is affected by the regulation of the Kariba Dam and there are concerns that another potential dam on the Zambezi River, in the Mapata Gorge, might dramatically undermine the value of the area.<ref name = "unesco" /> Recently, the area was again saved from the Mupata Gorge hydro-electric scheme, where the chosen project was the Batoka Dam instead.
==Surrounding area== The park is contiguous with Zambia's Lower Zambezi National Park on the opposite side of the Zambezi River, and the larger UNESCO area is contiguous with the Urungwe Safari Area ({{cvt|2870|km2}}), the Dande Safari Area ({{cvt|523|km2}}) and the Doma Safari Area ({{cvt|764|km2}}).<ref name = "unesco" />
==See also== {{Portal|Wetlands}} * Chitake River * Zambezi Escarpment
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|Mana Pools National Park}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20160724112028/http://www.zimparks.org/index.php/parks-overview/national/mana-pools Mana Pools] - Zimbabwe Parks & Wildlife Authority
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Crossing the rukomechi.JPG|Bridge on the Rukomechi River near Nyakasikana Gate, Mana Pools National Park File:Zambezi-at-Mutsango.JPG|Zambezi River near Mutsango Lodge, Mana Pools National Park File:Island in the Zambezi River at Mana Pools National Park-1.jpg|Looking across the Zambezi River to the Zambezi Escarpment, Zambia, from Mana Pools National Park File:Island in the Zambezi River at Mana Pools National Park.jpg|Island in the Zambezi River from Mana Pools National Park File:Rukomechisand.JPG|Rukomechi River from Nyakasikana Bridge, Mana Pools National Park </gallery>
{{National Parks of Zimbabwe}}
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Category:National parks of Zimbabwe Category:World Heritage Sites in Zimbabwe Category:Geography of Mashonaland West Province Category:Zambezi River Category:Ramsar sites in Zimbabwe Category:Tourist attractions in Mashonaland West Province Category:Zambezian and mopane woodlands