AfDB review urges investment in inland fisheries

The African Development Bank (AfDB) has released a “Review of African Inland Fisheries” calling for urgent investment to restore aquatic habitats and integrate fisheries into broader water resource management (published ABIDJAN, Ivory Coast, September 27, 2025).

• Main announcement/action: The AfDB Review calls for urgent investment in restoring aquatic habitats and integrating inland fisheries into water resource management, prioritising habitat protection in degraded areas such as Lake Victoria’s marshes and Senegal’s Falémé River; it recommends nature-based solutions (reconnecting floodplains, rehabilitating riparian zones, reducing pollution) and exploring managed artificial floods downstream of hydroelectric dams (examples: Kenya’s Tana River; Senegal River).
• Background and details: The report estimates about 5 million full- or part-time fishers and >10 million people (about 50% women) dependent on inland fisheries when subsistence fishing is included; it builds on a joint appeal made in Dakar in September 2024 by the AfDB Group and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and includes links to the full review and related FAO-AfDB materials.