Protect rivers to preserve Africa’s freshwater life
Africa’s 3200 freshwater fish species are central to Africa’s development and future.
Africa is home to more than 3,200 freshwater fish species – more than a quarter of the world’s total.
Only in 2024, 28 new freshwater fish species were described in Africa.
Africa has the world’s highest catch of freshwater fish per capita namely 2.56kg per person per year, 28% higher than in Asia.
While most wild freshwater fish caught in Africa are consumed locally and regionally, their importance ripples far beyond the continent.
Small-scale fisheries underpin national economies, support regional food trade, and increasingly contribute to global supply chains, including the export of dried and smoked fish, ornamental aquarium species, and high-value recreational fishing tourism.
Uganda and Tanzania are the 6th and 7th largest inland fish producers globally. Most of the fish are caught in Lake Victoria.
Hotspot for diversity and risk
According to Eric Oyare, WWF Africa Freshwater Lead, Africa is a global hotspot of freshwater fish diversity but is therefore also a hotspot of risk.
“When these fish disappear, we lose much more than species. We lose food security, livelihoods, ecosystem balance, and resilience to floods and droughts. These declines are a red flag for the broader health of Africa’s freshwater ecosystems, which are the very life support systems for people and nature,” says Qyare.
Some of Africa’s freshwater fish species are remarkable. A new report, titled Africa’s Forgotten Fishes, released by WWF today, highlights extraordinary species such as the African lungfish, which breathes air and can survive years buried in mud during droughts; a blind cichlid from the Congo Basin adapted to life in underground aquatic caves; the ancient bichirs, often referred to as “living fossils” for their lineage that predates the dinosaurs; and the formidable African tigerfish, a fast-swimming predator renowned for its powerful jaws and hunting skills.
Adoption of a recovery plan
However, across the continent, freshwater fish populations are in freefall. In the Zambezi floodplain, catches of key species have dropped by up to 90%. At the same time, Lake Malawi’s iconic ‘chambo’ tilapia, a staple food and national symbol featured on the Malawian Kwacha, has declined by 94%.
In the report WWF has urged African governments and stakeholders to adopt the Emergency Recovery Plan for Freshwater Biodiversity.
The plan outlines six urgent actions:
- Let rivers flow more naturally
- Improve water quality in freshwater ecosystems
- Protect and restore critical habitats and species
- End unsustainable resource use
- Prevent and control invasive non-native species
- Safeguard free-flowing rivers and remove obsolete barriers
Oyare says: “These six pillars have been implemented successfully in other regions of the world. With bold leadership, African countries can adapt them to local contexts, helping secure freshwater biodiversity for generations to come.”
But the report also offers hope. Community-led conservation efforts are showing success in Tanzania, Zambia, Namibia, and beyond, protecting breeding zones, co-managing fisheries, and restoring degraded habitats. New global frameworks, like the Freshwater Challenge, now joined by 20 African countries, offer a path forward.
Report offers hope
“It’s time we stopped treating freshwater fishes as an afterthought,” says Nancy Rapando, WWF Africa Food Futures Lead. “They are central to Africa’s biodiversity, development and future. We must act now, before the rivers dry out.”
The Ramsar COP15, formally known as the 15th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP15) which will take place from 23rd to 31st July 2025 in Zimbabwe, will bring together governments, scientists and conservationists to tackle the rising threats facing freshwater ecosystems and chart a path toward more sustainable management.
African countries have a unique opportunity to lead by example, by putting freshwater ecosystems and fish at the heart of conservation and development decisions. That means implementing the 30×30 inland waters target under the Global Biodiversity Framework, joining and accelerating the Freshwater Challenge, and adopting the Emergency Recovery Plan for Freshwater Biodiversity.
“The future of Africa’s rivers and fishes is inseparable from the future of its people,” says Itai Chibiya, WWF Zimbabwe Country Director. “We need bold action at Ramsar COP15 to restore the life support systems of this continent, starting with our forgotten freshwater ecosystems.”
The full report is available at africa.panda.org/
Protect rivers to preserve Africa’s unique freshwater life
