During the 5th International Conference on African Rivers held in Rabat, Morocco, one of the outcomes was the Rabat Declaration on the Future of African Rivers, which highlights ten recommendations.

Africa is warming at more than +0.3 °C per decade — faster than the global average, and up to 1.5 times the global mean in some zones. This accelerated warming is reshaping the hydrology of all African sub-regions in divergent yet equally alarming ways. In North Africa, the surface waters are already largely used for multipurpose uses and sediment trapping into dams accelerate the coastal retreat and vulnerability to sea level rise. The surface waters of the Nile basin face rising demand. Across West Africa, the Niger, Volta and Senegal basins alternate between deepening drying trends and high floods. Central Africa's Congo and Ogooue Rivers face combined climate and land-use pressures modifying their flows. East Africa oscillates between six consecutive failed rainy seasons in the Horn and devastating floods across the Nile and Rift Valley basins. Southern Africa's Zambezi, Limpopo, Okavango and Orange all recorded severely below-normal discharge in 2024. Rainfall and river discharge across the continent are swinging by −50% to +50% relative to long-term historical means, with cascading impacts on food security, energy, health and forced displacement. In 2024 — the hottest year in 175 years of records — only one-third of river basins globally experienced normal discharge, for the sixth consecutive year. The scientists of the 5th International Conference on Africa’s Rivers gathered in Rabat, under the auspices of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, have prepared the 10 recommendations of this Declaration to call for evidence-based, inclusive and collective actions to protect, restore and better share river surface water in Africa.

Rabat Declaration on the Future of African Rivers 10 Recommendations 

1. Safeguard freshwater resources

African rivers are under severe stress from climate-driven drying, and urgent action is needed to manage watersheds sustainably before irreversible tipping points are reached.

2. Govern river water demand

With Africa's population set to double by 2050, surface water must be managed more efficiently and equitably, with women, children, and smallholder farmers at the centre of policy.

3. Protect river water quality

Pollution from mining, agriculture, and urban growth is contaminating rivers and aquifers across the continent, requiring enforceable standards and better monitoring.

4. Stop land degradation

Deforestation and soil erosion are worsening Africa's water crisis by increasing runoff and flooding rivers with sediment, increasing soil loss and landslide risk, making landscape restoration a water security priority.

5. Reduce the environmental consequences of large dams

Major dams have significantly reduced the supply of sediments to deltas and coastlines, accelerating erosion and coastal retreat, and future dam projects should better account for these river-to-coast impacts.

6. Strengthen cooperation on shared rivers

Africa's 63 transboundary rivers surface water resources would benefit from strengthen cooperation between countries, to better manage shared water and biodiversity all along river courses, through coordinated reservoir operations, joint planning, and basin-wide decision-making frameworks.

7. Protect people from floods and droughts

In 2024 alone, floods killed over 2,500 people and displaced 4 million across Africa. The capacities of prediction of severe floods and droughts and prevention measures should be improved.

8. Build better water monitoring networks

Africa's river gauging systems are sparse, underfunded and unsustained, open-data observation combining satellites, AI, and field stations is needed.

9. Combine traditional knowledge with modern science

Effective water governance must bring together ancestral community wisdom, satellite technology, AI forecasting, and the equal participation of women, youth, and indigenous peoples.

10. Educate the next generation about water

Understanding how rivers, forests, wetlands, and coasts form one interconnected system should become a core part of school curricula across all of Africa.