Protecting Free-Flowing Rivers in the Congo Basin: Lessons from Upemba

Contributor: Christine Lain, Director and Site Manager

On 23 May 2026, the team of Upemba National Park had the honor of participating in the symposium organized by Université de Lubumbashi as part of the International Day of Migratory Fish, under the theme: “Connecting Rivers, Protecting Life Cycles: The Challenges of Aquatic Connectivity in the Congo Basin.”

This important exchange brought together scientists, conservation practitioners, universities and environmental actors around one critical question for the future of the Congo Basin: how do we preserve the ecological connectivity of our rivers and fish migrations before fragmentation irreversibly alters these ecosystems?

For Upemba National Park, this discussion is highly relevant. Our landscape contains some of the last large relatively intact aquatic systems in the region, connected to major river networks that sustain biodiversity, fisheries and local livelihoods. Yet, as observed in several tropical basins around the world, particularly in Brazil and the Amazon, river fragmentation caused by poorly planned dams can profoundly disrupt fish migrations, alter sediment flows, transform flood cycles and weaken the ecological functioning of entire river systems.

One of the strongest messages shared during the symposium was that current technological mitigation measures alone are often insufficient to fully restore natural migration processes for migratory fish species. Around the world, scientists increasingly recognize that the most effective “nature-positive” solution remains the protection of still-intact river corridors and the avoidance of fragmentation of critical aquatic ecosystems.

For the Congo Basin, and particularly for landscapes such as Upemba, the priority today must therefore be knowledge, prevention and long-term planning. We still need to better identify migratory routes, understand fish life cycles, map breeding areas and evaluate the cumulative impacts of future infrastructure projects before irreversible decisions are made. And look at alternatives with mixed energy projects such as solar.

The participation of Upemba National Park in this symposium reinforced our commitment to promoting science-based conservation and integrated landscape management. Protecting rivers is not only about protecting fish, it is about preserving ecological processes and integrity, food security, local economies and the resilience of one of the world’s most important freshwater basins in Africa and the world.

As conservation actors, researchers and decision-makers, we all share a collective responsibility to ensure that the Congo Basin does not repeat mistakes already observed elsewhere. The future of aquatic connectivity in Central Africa will depend on the decisions we make today.