Management and governance of African rivers
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Date
2025
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier Inc.
Abstract
Over the years, there has been an outcry over the decline in ecosystem services (ES) that watersheds and rivers provide
(Costanza et al., 1997; Kremen, 2005; De Groot et al., 2012; Ferreira et al., 2023; Masese and Dalu, 2024, Chapter 1). This
situation has been witnessed in different parts of the world where dramatic declines in ES have posed serious challenges to
watershed and river basin conservation (Kulindwa, 2005). While the capacity of watersheds and rivers to provide ES has
become erratic, and sometimes increasing arithmetically, watershed and river basin degradation has been increasing
exponentially (Brauman et al., 2014), necessitating the need for effective management and governance structures.
Africa is endowed with extensive river basins that offer a wide variety of ES for inland and coastal communities (Dube
et al., 2024, Chapter 2; O’Brien et al., 2024, Chapter 3; Mwaijengo et al., 2024, Chapter 4; Muvundja et al., 2024, Chapter
5; Dalu et al., 2024a,b, Chapters 6 and 7). The continent has many valuable large rivers, including the Congo, Limpopo,
Niger, Nile, Okavango, Orange, Senegal, Volta, and Zambezi whose waters and catchments are habitats for endemic and
threatened species of aquatic flora and fauna. Most of these river basins have socio-economic and cultural importance not
only at the local, regional and national levels but also at the global scale. They support small-scale and large-scale
agriculture, commercial and artisanal fisheries, livestock production and range management, industrial growth, hydro-
power development and biodiversity.
Unfortunately, the sustainability and well-being of these rivers and their basins face several challenges, including
depletion of water resources through excessive abstractions, land use change, barriers to flow and connectivity caused by
dams and weirs, failure to invest adequately in river protection, restoration and monitoring, and unsustainable financing of
investments in water supply and sanitation (see Mpopetsi et al., 2024, Chapter 25; McClain and Masese, 2024, Chapter
28). The management and governance structures already in place also seem to be inadequate and ineffective. These threats
and inadequacies impinge on the sustainable management of rivers, escalating competing demands for basic water supply
and sanitation, food security, economic development and river-related ES.
In this chapter, we provide an overview of the status of African river basins, existing policy and legal frameworks, and
institutional structures established to facilitate their management and governance. The chapter also explores the challenges
that have been experienced in the management and governance of river basins in Africa and we propose strategies for their
effective management and governance
Description
Book chapter 21, pp. 561-584
Keywords
Ecosystem services (ES), River Management, River governance, African rivers, Watershed-river basin conservation challenge
Citation
https://www.elsevier.com/book-and-journals