This study is a response to a policy request submitted by the EU Delegation to Zambia to the EC Knowledge Centre for Biodiversity (KCBD) through the KCBD ticketing system. The Lobito Corridor is a major infrastructure initiative aimed at enhancing regional connectivity and economic integration across Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia. As the project expands, concerns are emerging over its potential environmental impacts, particularly on biodiversity. In this report, we present a large-scale assessment of the possible effects of the Lobito Corridor development on various dimensions of biodiversity and environmental values. To this end, we focused on a large area of interest defined around the major planned infrastructures, including potential variants. The area spans from 12°E to 31°E in longitude, and from 8°S to 16°S in latitude, covering approximately 1,740,000 km². Our analysis aims to provide a multi-dimensional view of the environmental, ecological and biological status of the area. For this, we mapped and quantified a broad set of key variables that offer insights into anthropogenic pressures across the Corridor’s landscape, while also highlighting ecological and biological vulnerabilities, and conservation priorities. Specifically, we report detailed and spatially explicit information on current land cover and degree of human modification, water availability, forest cover and fragmentation, and the distribution and extent of protected areas and key biodiversity areas. We also provide an extensive biodiversity assessment by examining the distribution and conservation status of more than 1,700 terrestrial vertebrate species (amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles) within the area of interest. This information is synthesized by looking at both individual taxa and overall diversity and is complemented using state-of-the-art conservation metrics. Our assessment reveals that the vast majority of the area is currently only weakly affected by human activities, with forests covering more than two-thirds of the land. Spatial patterns of diversity and species vulnerability depict a complex picture, suggesting the existence of delicate trade-offs between development and conservation. Although our results cannot - and are by no means intended to - define where development should or should not occur, they provide an essential frame of reference for evidence based evaluation of ecological risks and may offer substantial support for future planning efforts in the region.
STRONA Giovanni;
JUFFE-BIGNOLI Diego;
MANDRICI Andrea;
DELLI Giacomo;
CAPITANI Claudia;
ROGGERI Paolo;
LIPPI Simona;
DUBOIS Gregoire;
VASILAKOPOULOS Paris;
VELASCO GOMEZ Marcela;
2025-10-31
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC143013
978-92-68-31075-5 (online),
1831-9424 (online),
EUR 40420,
OP KJ-01-25-419-EN-N (online),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC143013,
10.2760/9883428 (online),
