THE S THE STATUS AND DISTRIBUTION T A OF FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY T U S IN CENTRAL AFRICA AND Brooks, E.G.E., Allen, D.J. and Darwall, W.R.T. D I st RIBU T ION OF F RE S HWA T ER B IODIVER S I T Y IN CEN CENTRAL AFRICA CENTRAL T RAL AFRICA INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE WORLD HEADQUARTERS Rue Mauverney 28 1196 Gland Switzerland Tel: + 41 22 999 0000 Fax: + 41 22 999 0020 www.iucn.org/species www.iucnredlist.org The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM Regional Assessment About IUCN IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ – Regional Assessment IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development Africa challenges. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Eastern Africa. Compiled by William R.T. Darwall, Kevin IUCN works on biodiversity, climate change, energy, human livelihoods and greening the world economy by supporting scientific research, managing G. Smith, Thomas Lowe and Jean-Christophe Vié, 2005. field projects all over the world, and bringing governments, NGOs, the UN and companies together to develop policy, laws and best practice. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Southern Africa. Compiled by William R.T. Darwall, IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organization, Kevin G. Smith, Denis Tweddle and Paul Skelton, 2009. with more than 1,000 government and NGO members and almost 11,000 volunteer experts in some 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Western Africa. Compiled by Smith, K.G., Diop, M.D., 1,000 staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in the public, NGO and private sectors around the world. Niane, M. and Darwall, W.R.T. 2009. www.iucn.org The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Northern Africa. Compiled by N. Garcia, A Cuttelod, and D. Abdul Malak. 2010. IUCN – The Species Survival Commission The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of IUCN’s six Other regions volunteer commissions with a global membership of 7,000 experts. SSC advises IUCN and its members on the wide range of technical and scientific The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Fish Endemic to the Mediterranean Basin. Compiled by Kevin G. aspects of species conservation and is dedicated to securing a future for biodiversity. SSC has significant input into the international agreements Smith and William R.T. Darwall, 2006. dealing with biodiversity conservation. The Status and Distribution of Reptiles and Amphibians of the Mediterranean Basin. Compiled by Neil Cox, www.iucn.org/themes/ssc Janice Chanson and Simon Stuart, 2006. The Status and Distribution of European Mammals. Compiled by Helen J. Temple and Andrew Terry, 2007. IUCN – Species Programme Overview of Cartilaginous Fishes (Chondrichthyans) in the Mediterranean Sea. Compiled by Rachel D. The IUCN Species Programme supports the activities of the IUCN Cavanagh and Claudine Gibson, 2007. Species Survival Commission and individual Specialist Groups, as well as implementing global species conservation initiatives. It is an integral part of the IUCN Secretariat and is managed from IUCN’s international European Red List of Amphibians. Compiled by Helen J. Temple and Neil Cox, 2009. headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. The Species Programme includes a number of technical units covering Species Trade and Use, the IUCN Red List Unit, Freshwater Biodiversity Unit (all located in Cambridge, UK), the European Red List of Reptiles. Compiled by Neil Cox and Helen J. Temple, 2009. Global Biodiversity Assessment Initiative (located in Washington DC, USA) and the Marine Biodiversity Unit (located in Norfolk, Virginia, USA). The Status and Distribution of Dragonflies of the Mediterranean Basin. Compiled by Elisa Riservato, Jean-Pierre www.iucn.org/species Boudot, Sonia Ferreira, Milos Jovic ´ , Vincent J. Kalkman, Wolfgang Schneider and Boudjéma Samraoui, 2009. The Status and Distribution of Mediterranean Mammals. Compiled by Helen J. Temple and Annabelle Cuttelod, 2009. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in the Eastern Himalaya. Compiled by Allen, D.J., Molur, S., and Daniel, B.A. 2010. THE STATUS AND DIstRIBUTION OF FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY IN CENTRAL AFRICA Brooks, E.G.E., Allen, D.J. and Darwall, W.R.T. (Compilers) The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN or other participating organizations, concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN or other participating organizations. Published by: IUCN, Cambridge, UK and Gland, Switzerland. Copyright: © 2011 International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial purposes is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Red List logo: © 2008 Citation: Brooks, E.G.E., Allen, D.J. and Darwall, W.R.T. (Compilers). 2011. The Status and Distribution of Freshwater Biodiversity in Central Africa. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. ISBN: 978-2-8317-1326-7 Cover design: NatureBureau Cover photo: Wagenia fishing at Boyoma Falls. 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The text of this book is printed on 115 gsm Revive 50:50 Silk ii Contents Acknowledgments .........................................................................................................................................................................................................vi Executive Summary ......................................................................................................................................................................................................vii Résumé Exécutif .............................................................................................................................................................................................................ix 1. Background ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................2 1.1 Global status of freshwater biodiversity ..........................................................................................................................................................2 1.1.1 Species diversity ..........................................................................................................................................................................................2 1.1.2 Major threats to freshwater species ........................................................................................................................................................3 1.1.3 Species threatened status ..........................................................................................................................................................................3 1.2 Situation analysis for central Africa .................................................................................................................................................................4 1.2.1 Geographic extent ......................................................................................................................................................................................4 1.2.2 Biophysical characteristics .......................................................................................................................................................................7 1.2.3 Aquatic biodiversity ..................................................................................................................................................................................8 1.2.4 Regional threats .......................................................................................................................................................................................10 1.2.5 Regional use and value of wetlands and their biodiversity