The status and distribution of freshwater biodiversity in eastern Africa

Biodiversity within inland water ecosystems in Eastern Africa is highly diverse and of great importance to livelihoods and economies, however, development activities are not always compatible with the conservation of this diversity and it is poorly represented in the development planning process. One of the main reasons is the lack of readily available information on the status and distribution of inland water taxa. In a response to this need for information, the IUCN/SSC Freshwater Biodiversity Assessment Programme conducted a regional assessment of over 1,600 taxa of freshwater fishes, molluscs, odonates and crabs from Burundi, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. In the process of the study, which is based on the collation and analysis of existing information, regional experts from five of these countries were trained in biodiversity assessment methods and, where appropriate, in field assessment and taxonomy. Distribution ranges have been mapped for the majority of species so providing an important tool for application to the conservation and development planning process. The full dataset is to be made freely available through the internet and through distribution on CD-ROM.