CONSERVATION IN
ACTION
At Epic Safaris, conservation is our foundation.
Every hunt directly supports wildlife protection and the communities that share Zambia’s vital wild Game Management Areas surrounding North Luangwa and Kafue National Parks. We work alongside our partners and local stakeholders to ensure these areas remain protected and sustainable.
We conduct every safari ethically and responsibly — strictly within government quotas, focusing on mature animals, and reinvesting proceeds into anti-poaching, habitat protection, and community development.
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When communities prosper, wildlife thrives.
How Sustainable Hunting Protects Wild Places
Zambia’s GMAs are the buffer zones around national parks. In these mixed‑use landscapes, regulated hunting helps and is often the only viable means to outcompete destructive alternatives like charcoal production, uncontrolled agriculture, habitat destruction, encroachment into core wildlife areas, and other land uses that harm wildlife populations by delivering real value: jobs, patrols, meat, and development, directly to the people who share space with wildlife.
Where We Make an Impact
How GMAs, DNPW & Operators Work Together
What are Game Management Areas?
Legally designated mixed‑use conservation areas (mostly on customary land) that buffer national parks. People live there, but wildlife remains the priority land use under management plans.
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Who sets the rules?
DNPW sets hunting quotas and issues permits.
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How communities participate?
Elected CRBs co‑manage resources and receive a share of hunting revenues for community projects and village scouts.
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Who provides the investment?
The operator using its hunting safari revenue pays concession/lease fees, community‑obligation payments, trophy quota fees, license's, and other financial support, which, alongside NGO inputs and CRB shares funds on‑the‑ground protection and services.
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Why it matters?
This framework turns wildlife into a valuable, renewable asset—giving communities a reason to protect habitats and report poaching.​
What the Science Says About Sustainable Use
Conservation outcomes: Well‑managed, low offtake game harvest in hunting areas can maintain or improve wildlife numbers by keeping habitat intact, funding patrols, and aligning community incentives with conservation.
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Community outcomes: When communities receive jobs, meat, and revenue shares, support for wildlife rises and human‑wildlife conflict can drop with better mitigation and response.
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Policy alignment: Sustainable use—including regulated hunting—is recognized by leading conservation bodies as a legitimate conservation tool when well governed.
Why Hunting Concessions Matter in Remote GMAs
In many remote GMAs, year‑round photographic tourism is limited by rough access, seasonal flooding, distance, and low visitor volumes. Ethical, quota‑based hunting supports large, intact areas with minimal infrastructure, bringing in the funds that pay for patrols, fuel, wages, meat distribution, and vital services. Where other options don’t pencil, this model keeps wild land economically competitive against conversion.​
​Zambia's Protected Areas at a Glance:
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20 national parks + 36 GMAs
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Roughly 30% of Zambia’s land area is in the country’s wildlife estate (parks + GMAs).
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GMAs alone cover about 167,000 km² (≈ 22% of the country).
What Will Your Legacy Be?
Your safari is more than an adventure, it’s a commitment to wild Africa. You help keep scouts in the field, protect critical wildlife corridors, support schools and clinics, and ensure communities benefit directly from conservation.
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Ready to make an impact? Contact us to plan your safari and help people and wildlife prosper together.
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“Wild animals only continue to exist when preserved by sportsmen…”
— Theodore Roosevelt