The Niger River-- four ecoregions, one refuge

Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire: WWF is joining with local and international partners to save Africa's third longest river.

West Africa's Niger river connects four ecoregions of outstanding importance and some of Africa's most precious wetlands: Guinean Small Streams, the Niger Inland Delta, Niger Delta and Guineans Mangroves.

Vast floodplains along the river and the river itself are home to threatened species such as the West African manatee, hippopotamus, crocodile and black-crowned crane. Twenty of the river's 250 species of freshwater fish are endemic, and a crucial food source for millions of people.

In the face of unsustainable resource use and the threat of more dams, one village has developed its own floodplain management strategy and agreed on no-take zones for fishing.

Contact: Andreas Wurzer,Freshwater Officer in the WWF West Africa Regional Office in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire. Tel: +225 2244 8786. E: awurzer@wwf.warpo.ci