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.
The WWF divides the Earth's land surface into ecoregions, defined as "large area 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." The Earth's land surface is divided into eight biogeographic realms. Most of Africa lies in the Afrotropical realm, 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
- Permanent Maghreb
- Temporary Maghreb
- Red Sea Coastal
- Socotra
Nilo-Sudan
- Ashanti
- Bight Coastal
- Bijagos
- Cape Verde
- Dry Sahel
- Eburneo
- Ethiopian Highlands
- Lake Chad Catchment
- *Yaéré
- Niger
- * Upper Niger
- * Inner Niger Delta
- * Lower Niger-Benue
- * Niger Delta
- Nile
- * Lake Tana
- * Upper Nile
- * Lower Nile
- * Nile Delta
- Northern Eastern Rift
- Senegal-Gambia Catchments
- Shebele-Juba Catchments
- Lake Turkana
- Volta
Upper Guinea
- Fouta-Djalon
- Mount Nimba
- Northern Upper Guinea
- Southern Upper Guinea
West Coast Equatorial
- Central West Coastal Equatorial
- Northern West Coast Equatorial
- Southern West Coast Equatorial
- São Tomé, Príncipe, and Annobón
- Western Equatorial Crater Lakes
Congo
- Albertine Highlands
- Bangweulu-Mweru
- Cuvette Centrale
- Kasai
- Lower Congo
- Lower Congo Rapids
- Mai Ndombe
- Malebo Pool
- Sangha
- Sudanic Congo
- Uele
- Upper Congo
- Upper Congo Rapids
- Upper Luluaba
- Thysville Caves
- Tumba
Great Lakes
- Lake Malawi
- Lake Rukwa
- Lake Tanganyika
- Lakes Kivu, Edward, George, and Victoria
Eastern and Coastal
- Southern Eastern Rift
- Kenyan Coastal Rivers
- Pangani
- Malagarasi-Moyowosi
- Eastern Coastal Basins
- Lakes Chilwa and Chiuta
Cuanza
- Cuanza
Zambezi
- Etosha
- Kalahari
- Karstveld Sink Holes
- Namib Coastal
- Okavango Floodplains
- Zambezian Lowveld
- Zambezi
- * Zambezian Headwaters
- * Kafue
- * Upper Zambezi Floodplains
- * Mulanje
- * Eastern Zimbabwe Highlands
- * Zambezian Highveld
- * Middle Zambezi Luangwa
- * Lower Zambezi
[Madagascar and the [Indian Ocean Islands]]
- Comoros
- Madagascar Eastern Lowlands
- Madagascar Eastern Highlands
- Madagascar Northwestern Basins
- Madagascar Southern Basins
- Madagascar Western Basins
- Mascarenes
- Coralline Seychelles
- Granitic Seychelles
Southern Temperate
- Amatole-Winterberg Highlands
- Cape Fold
- Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands
- Karoo
- Southern Kalahari
- Southern Temperate Highveld
- Western Orange
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
- Yaéré
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
- Upper Congo
- Upper Niger
Mediterranean systems
- Cape Fold
- Permanent Maghreb
Highland and mountain systems
- Albertine Highlands
- Amatole-Winterberg Highlands
- Drakensberg-Maloti Highlands
- Eastern Zimbabwe Highlands
- 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, Príncipe, and Annobón
- 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
Savanna-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 Highveld
Subterranean 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