· Wet for a Long Time
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
· Looking Ahead

Global 200 Snapshot

The Upper Guinea Rivers and Streams are home to unique African species. Many types of fish live here and nowhere else on Earth.  

Wet for a Long Time

Wet conditions have existed more or less permanently over evolutionary time in the Upper Guinea ecoregion, allowing species to survive in these rivers and streams when dry conditions dominated in other portions of West Africa. Many species can’t be found anywhere else in the world and reside here within only a small area.

Special Features

Rugged and steep terrain creates many waterfalls and rapids in the mountaintop regions of Fouta-Djalon and Mount Nimba. The Fouta-Djalon range has an average elevation of about 2,970 feet (900 meters), while Mount Nimba rises nearly 5,905 feet (1,800 meters). These and several other mountains separate the rivers and streams of the Upper Guinea ecoregion from those rivers and streams that flow to the north and east. They also provide steep, isolated habitats for species adapted to the turbulent, fast-flowing waters of these coastal rivers and streams.

	Ancient volcanic eruptions in the Upper Guinea Rivers and Streams ecoregion created a lot of liquid rock that flowed in many directions. When the temperature of this rock dropped, mountains with rocky shelves and jagged peaks were created. Many of the ecoregion's waterways now flow across these volcanic formations.

Wild Side

It takes a certain kind of fish to live in fast, churning waters like those of the Upper Guinea Rivers and Streams. Some fish families, like the mountain catfishes, squeakers, and minnows, contain several species adapted to such conditions. The elevated plateau of the Fouta-Djalon is rich in aquatic invertebrates and freshwater crabs. The endangered Mount Nimba otter shrew uses its webbed feet and flat tail to swim in mountain streams and hunt for crabs and fish. And rare pygmy hippos plod thorough forests and graze along the banks of waterways near the coast.

Cause for Concern

Deforestation is heavy within certain areas of this ecoregion, where much of the original forest cover has been removed to clear land for agriculture. Mining of iron ore and diamonds in Liberia is causing the siltation of rivers and the loss of much riverine vegetation.

Looking Ahead

The aquatic systems of Upper Guinea, particularly in the region of Mount Nimba, face continuing large-scale extraction of iron ore. Another threat to the biodiversity of the region is the political instability and wars in Liberia and Sierra Leone, which that have led to a weakening of the agencies that manage natural resources. The growing human population and the necessary expansion of agricultural land will continue to pose problems for the health of the freshwater systems.