The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Some of the fish species that supported the livelihoods and survivals of many living around Africa’s lakes are on the brink of extinction says new report by World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
WWF is a global body that leads international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. Its report titled “Africa’s Forgotten Fishes,” was released ahead of the global wetlands conference to be held in Zimbabwe.
The report, titled “Africa’s Forgotten Fishes,” reveals that 26% of Africa’s assessed freshwater fish species are threatened with extinction, with the true number potentially being much higher due to significant data gaps.
Eric Oyare, WWF Africa Freshwater Lead said Africa is a global hotspot of freshwater fish diversity, home to over 3,200 species, but it’s also a hotspot of risk.
“When these fish disappear, we lose much more than species: we lose food & nutrition security, livelihoods, ecosystem balance, and adaptive capacities to climate change. 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” said Oyare.
Often overlooked in global conservation conversations, Africa’s freshwater fishes are ecologically remarkable.
It 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.
Some of the threats identified in the report include, Habitat destruction from dams, deforestation, mining, and land conversion, pollution from agriculture, urban areas and industry, invasive species and overfishing, including destructive gear like mosquito nets and climate change, which alters rainfall patterns, dries out rivers and heats lakes.
Freshwater fishes play a vital role in maintaining the health of aquatic ecosystems, acting as predators, herbivores and nutrient recyclers.
They are also the backbone of inland fisheries that support millions of African households, especially the most vulnerable. But these lifelines are collapsing under the weight of multiple threats: 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%. Africa Freshwater Protection Manager at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Machaya Chomba notes that the disappearance of freshwater fish is not just a biodiversity crisis but a direct threat to food, livelihoods and cultural identity for millions across Africa.
“These species are the backbone of local economies and daily life. To protect them, we must restore and reconnect the rivers and wetlands that sustain both nature and people.” said Chomba, whose organisation helped produce the report alongside other partner organizations.
WWF urges African governments and stakeholders to adopt the Emergency Recovery Plan for Freshwater Biodiversity. This science-based, practical roadmap has been developed by leading experts to restore the health of freshwater ecosystems and the communities that rely on them.
The plan outlines six urgent actions. These include the need to let rivers flow more naturally, the improvement of water quality in freshwater ecosystems.
It also urges the need to protect and restore critical habitats and species, calls for an end to unsustainable resource use and the prevention and control invasive non-native species and urges the need to safeguard free-flowing rivers and remove obsolete barriers.
Eric Oyare said the sixpillars have all individually been implemented successfully in countries around the world. “With bold leadership, African countries can adapt them to local contexts, helping secure freshwater biodiversity for generations to come.” said Oyare.
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.
WWF Africa Food Futures Lead, Nancy Rapando said it is time we stopped treating freshwater fishes as an afterthought. “They are central to Africa’s biodiversity, development and future. We must act now before the rivers dry out.” said Rapando.
Species in Lake Victoria Researchers found that Lake Victoria shared among Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania is almost certainly a shadow of its former diversity due to the deliberate introduction of non-native food fish and other threats.
The lake had wonderful diversity of fishes, including an estimated 600 endemic cichlids. The report found that before the release of two non-native food fish, which successfully contributed to the development of one of the most productive inland fisheries in the world, but also devastated this treasure trove of endemic species.
It notes that the impact of these introductions was so profound that as many as 200 species may have been driven to extinction.
The effect of the introduction of Nile Perch
The voracious Nile perch, Lates niloticus, is certainly the prime suspect. Introduced in 1954 to create a new commercial fishery, the Nile perch population had exploded by the 1980s, ravaging the native cichlid species in the process.
By the 1990s, the Nile perch accounted for more than 90 percent of fish exports from the three Lake Victoria basin countries – Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania with yields peaking in 2005 at US$322 million, before falling to around US$250 million.
But the Nile perch is not the only factor: the introduction of water hyacinth, which reduced light and oxygen levels in the lake’s waters; unsustainable fishing practices; and habitat deterioration and eutrophication resulting from increasing lakeside agriculture, urbanisation, and deforestation also played their part.
Research indicates that some cichlid populations have shown signs of rebounding in recent years, while one species, the endemic Lipochromis microdon, was rediscovered during field trips by Ole Seehausen’s research team in 2023 and 2024 after last being formally recorded in 1985.
However, many species have likely been lost for good, some before even being properly described, with many others critically endangered. Small multi-coloured cichlids, generally known as Haplochromine cichlids (Fulu), were once the most specious group in Lake.
The report will be shared at Ramsar COP15, formally known as the 15th Conference of the Contracting Parties to the Convention on Wetlands (COP15), which will take place from 23rd to 31st July 2025 in Zimbabwe.
The conference 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.
****
URN
