This is a list of freshwater ecoregions in Africa and Madagascar as identified by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).
The WWF categorizes the Earth's land surface into ecoregions, which are defined as "large area[s] of land or water containing a distinct assemblage of natural communities and species." These ecoregions are further 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 biogeographic realms. While most of Africa falls within the Afrotropical realm, the freshwater ecoregions of North Africa share similarities with the Palearctic realm.
Each ecoregion is also classified into major habitat types or biomes.
Many view this classification as decisive, and some propose using these boundaries 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) Yaéré (seasonal wetland) Niger Upper Niger (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali) 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
Fouta-Djalon (Guinea) Mount Nimba (Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia) 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, Príncipe, and Annobón (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)