List of freshwater ecoregions in Africa and Madagascar

This is a list of freshwater ecoregions in Africa and Madagascar, as identified by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The WWF divides the Earth's land surface into ecoregions, defined as "large area [s] of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of natural communities and species". Ecoregions are grouped into bioregions, "a complex of ecoregions that share a similar biogeographic history, and thus often have strong affinities at higher taxonomic levels (e.g. genera, families)." The earth's land surface is divided into eight ecozones. Most of Africa lies in the Afrotropic ecozone, although the freshwater ecoregions of North Africa have much in common with the Palearctic.

Each ecoregion is also classified into major habitat types, or biomes.

Many consider this classification to be quite decisive, and some propose these as stable borders for bioregional democracy initiatives.

by Bioregion

North African

* Canary Islands
* Horn (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia)
* Permanent Maghreb (Algeria, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
* Temporary Maghreb (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Western Sahara)
* Red Sea Coastal (Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan)
* Socotra (Yemen)

Nilo-Sudan

* Ashanti (Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana)
* Bight Coastal (Benin, Ghana, Nigeria, Togo)
* Bijagos (Guinea Bissau)
* Cape Verde
* Dry Sahel (Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, Western Sahara)
* Eburneo (Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Mali)
* Ethiopian Highlands (Ethiopia)
* Lake Chad Catchment (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Sudan)
* Niger
** Upper Niger (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali)
** Mount Nimba (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia)
** Fouta-Djalon (Guinea)
** Inner Niger Delta (Mali)
** Lower Niger-Benue (Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Nigeria)
** Niger Delta (Nigeria)
* Nile
** Lake Tana (Ethiopia)
** Upper Nile (Sudan, Uganda)
** Lower Nile (Egypt, Sudan)
** Nile Delta (Egypt)
* Northern Eastern Rift (Ethiopia)
* Senegal-Gambia Catchments (Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mauritania, Senegal)
* Shebele-Juba Catchments (Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia)
* Lake Turkana (Ethiopia, Kenya)
* Volta (Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Togo)

Upper Guinea

* Northern Upper Guinea (Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Sierra Leone)
* Southern Upper Guinea (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia)

West Coast Equatorial

* Central West Coastal Equatorial (Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon)
* Northern West Coast Equatorial (Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria)
* Southern West Coast Equatorial (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon)
* São Tomé, Principé, and Annobon (Equatorial Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe)
* Western Equatorial Crater Lakes (Cameroon)

Congo

* Albertine Highlands (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Bangweulu-Mweru (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia)
* Cuvette Centrale (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Kasai (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Lower Congo (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo)
* Lower Congo Rapids (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo)
* Mai Ndombe (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Malebo Pool (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Sangha (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo)
* Sudanic Congo (Oubangi) (Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo)
* Uele (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Upper Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Upper Congo Rapids (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Upper Luluaba (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Thysville Caves (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
* Tumba (Democratic Republic of the Congo)

Great Lakes

* Lake Malawi (Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania)
* Lake Rukwa (Tanzania)
* Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zambia)
* Lakes Kivu, Edward, George, and Victoria (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda)

Eastern and Coastal

* Southern Eastern Rift (Kenya, Tanzania)
* Kenyan Coastal Rivers (Kenya)
* Pangani (Kenya, Tanzania)
* Malagarasi-Moyowosi (Tanzania)
* Eastern Coastal Basins (Mozambique, Tanzania)
* Lakes Chilwa and Chiuta (Malawi, Mozambique)

Cuanza

* Cuanza (Angola)

Zambezi

* Etosha (Angola, Namibia)
* Kalahari (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa)
* Karstveld Sink Holes (Namibia)
* Namib Coastal (Angola, Namibia)
* Okavango Floodplains (Angola, Botswana, Namibia)
* Zambezian Lowveld (Mozambique, South Africa, Swaziland, Zimbabwe)
* Zambezi
** Zambezian Headwaters (Angola, Zambia)
** Kafue (Zambia)
** Upper Zambezi Floodplains (Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia)
** Mulanje (Malawi, Mozambique)
** Eastern Zimbabwe Highlands (Mozambique, Zimbabwe)
** Zambezian (Plateau) Highveld (Zimbabwe)
** Middle Zambezi Luangwa (Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe)
** Lower Zambezi (Malawi, Mozambique)

Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands

* Comoros
* Madagascar Eastern Lowlands (Madagascar)
* Madagascar Eastern Highlands (Madagascar)
* Madagascar Northwestern Basins (Madagascar)
* Madagascar Southern Basins (Madagascar)
* Madagascar Western Basins (Madagascar)
* Mascarenes (Mauritius, Réunion)
* Coralline Seychelles (Seychelles)
* Granitic Seychelles (Seychelles)

outhern Temperate

* Amatole-Winterberg Highlands (South Africa)
* Cape Fold (South Africa)
* Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands (Lesotho, South Africa)
* Karoo (South Africa)
* Southern Kalahari (South Africa)
* Southern Temperate Highveld (South Africa, Swaziland)
* Western Orange (Botswana, South Africa)

by Major Habitat type

Closed basins and small lakes

* Lakes Chilwa and Chiuta
* Southern Eastern Rift
* Lake Tana
* Northern Eastern Rift
* Western Equatorial Crater Lakes

Floodplains, swamps, and lakes

* Bangweulu-Mweru
* Inner Niger Delta
* Kafue
* Lake Chad Catchment
* Mai Ndombe
* Malagarasi-Moyowosi
* Okavango Floodplains
* Tumba
* Upper Luluaba
* Upper Nile
* Upper Zambezi Floodplains

Moist forest rivers

* Ashanti
* Cuvette Centrale
* Central West Coastal Equatorial
* Eburneo
* Kasai
* Lower Congo
* Madagascar Eastern Lowlands
* Malebo Pool
* Northern Upper Guinea
* Northern West Coast Equatorial
* Sangha
* Southern Upper Guinea
* Northern West Coastal Equatorial
* Sudanic Congo (Oubangi)
* Upper Congo
* Upper Niger

Mediterranean systems

* Cape Fold
* Permanent Maghreb

Highland and mountain systems

* Albertine Highlands
* Amatole-Winterberg Highlands
* Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands
* Eastern Zimbabwe Hightlands
* Ethiopian Highlands
* Fouta-Djalon
* Madagascar Eastern Highlands
* Mount Nimba
* Mulanje

Island rivers and lakes

* Bijagos
* Canary Islands
* Cape Verde
* Comoros
* Coralline Seychelles
* Granitic Seychelles
* São Tomé, Principé, and Annobon
* Mascarenes
* Socotra

Large lakes

* Lake Malawi
* Lake Rukwa
* Lake Tanganyika
* Lake Turkana
* Lakes Kivu, Edward, George, and Victoria

Large river deltas

* Niger Delta
* Nile Delta

Large river rapids

* Lower Congo Rapids
* Upper Congo Rapids

avanna-dry forest rivers

* Bight Coastal
* Cuanza
* Kenyan Coastal Rivers
* Lower Niger-Benue
* Lower Zambezi
* Madagascar Northwestern Basins
* Madagascar Western Basins
* Middle Zambezi Luangwa
* Pangani
* Senegal-Gambia Catchments
* Eastern Coastal Basins
* Southern Temperate Highveld
* Uele
* Volta
* Zambezian Headwaters
* Zambezian Lowveld
* Zamebzian (Plateau) Highveld

ubterranean and spring systems

* Karstveld Sink Holes
* Thysville Caves

Xeric systems

* Dry Sahel
* Etosha
* Horn
* Kalahari
* Karoo
* Lower Nile
* Madagascar Southern Basins
* Namib Coastal
* Red Sea Coastal
* Shebele-Juba Catchments
* Southern Kalahari
* Temporary Maghreb
* Western Orange

References

* Thieme, Michelle L. (2005). "Freshwater Ecoregions of Africa and Madagascar: A Conservation Assessment". Island Press, Washington DC.