Africa Regional Summit: Defending Waters and Communities Against the Fossil Fuel Rush

October 7, 2025

From September 9–12, 2025, Waterkeeper Alliance and Waterkeepers from six African nations gathered in Dakar, Sénégal, for the 2025 Africa Regional Summit. From Hann Bay to Lagos Lagoon, Waterkeepers shared urgent realities as well as bold and constructive solutions. Participants included Hann Baykeeper, Bargny Coast Waterkeeper, and Sénégal River Waterkeeper (Sénégal); Lake Victoria Waterkeeper (Kenya); Flamingo Chap Chap Auji-Kibos River Waterkeeper (Kenya); Kyoga Nile Waterkeeper (Uganda); Lilongwe Waterkeeper (Malawi); Lagos Lagoon Waterkeeper (Nigeria); and Bamako Niger River Guardians, a Waterkeeper Alliance Affiliate (Mali). Youth participants joined as well, reflecting the Summit’s focus on growing the movement and building the next generation of leaders. Together, these groups built solidarity and confronted the defining challenge facing the continent’s waters: unchecked fossil fuel expansion layered on top of plastic pollution and climate change.

Expert panelists brought sharp focus to these issues. Sénégalese meteorologist Dr. Aïda Diongue-Niang, Technical Adviser at the National Agency for Civil Aviation and Meteorology (ANACIM) and Vice-Chair of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), underlined how climate change multiplies risks already pressing on Africa’s waters — from sea level rise to extreme weather events and their cascading impacts on fisheries.

Building on that warning, Mouhamadou Mbaye, Project Coordinator with Africa Carbon & Commodities (ACC), spotlighted plastic pollution as a growing crisis, with Sénégal producing more than 250,000 tons of plastic waste every year. He highlighted the Deekali project, Africa’s first verified plastic credit initiative, and innovative efforts to recover ghost nets from Yoff, Hann Bay, and Kayar.

Adding a note of hope, Colonel Momar Sow, Director of Community Marine Protected Areas, described how communities are restoring marine ecosystems — replanting mangroves, installing artificial reefs, and seeing measurable increases in fish species richness. These stories showed that even amid daunting challenges, recovery is possible when communities lead the way.

“I will actively implement innovative river and lake protection strategies in my community, build stronger partnerships with fellow Waterkeeper groups, and launch targeted outreach programs to raise awareness and promote sustainable water conservation practices.” – Summit Participant 

The sessions also included a presentation on Waterkeeper Alliance’s new strategic plan, with an invitation for feedback from participants. What stood out was how strongly the youth engaged with this discussion, offering fresh ideas and perspectives. Their input underscored not only the urgency of the work ahead but also the excitement of seeing a new generation step into leadership.

At the close of the first day, participants visited the African Renaissance Monument, a towering bronze figure rising above Dakar as a symbol of resilience and renewal. Standing together beneath it, Waterkeepers reflected on what true Renaissance requires: clean rivers, safe coasts, and decisions that honor people and ecosystems. 

That reflection carried into the days that followed, when Waterkeepers gave powerful testimonies about their watersheds. From Kenya to Nigeria, they spoke of industrial pollution, untreated sewage, plastic waste, wetland destruction, collapsing fisheries, and intensifying floods and droughts. Together, they painted a picture of how local pressures are magnified by global forces — fossil fuel development and climate change above all, while also underscoring the need to grow the Waterkeeper movement by establishing new groups and supporting strong leaders across the continent, a theme powerfully reinforced by the youth who added their voices.

The urgency of these issues came into sharp focus during a visit to Hann Bay, once a tourist haven and today a hotspot of untreated sewage, industrial discharge, and plastic waste.

Local leaders explained that fishermen can no longer find fish close to shore and now must travel farther out to sea, often staying at sea for days at a time to make their catch. Mbacké Seck, Hann Baykeeper, shared a photographic timeline of the bay that documented both the scale of pollution and the progress that local efforts have already achieved, offering a powerful reminder that change is possible. Mbacké also guided participants to the Hann Bay Remediation Project’s pumping station construction site, where a consortium led by Suez, with partners Eiffage and Sade, is building a wastewater treatment system.

The project, financed by the Government of Sénégal with support from the French Development Agency, the European Union, and Invest International, aims to collect and treat wastewater that has long been dumped directly into the bay, improve compliance by industries, and restore conditions for the hundreds of thousands of people living along the shoreline. While construction has faced delays, the project is slated for completion in 2025. Together with residents, Waterkeepers joined a cleanup along the shoreline — an act of solidarity that underscored both the severity of the crisis and the determination to reclaim the bay for its communities.

“As both a citizen of Sénégal and an interpreter, I found the discussions to be an eye-opening awakening to the complex situational context of African rivers—particularly in my native Casamance, where communities are still striving for access to safe drinking water. I am deeply grateful to have been associated with such a meaningful event, and I sincerely appreciate your commitment to amplifying the voices of our communities.” – Ousmane Baldé, Linguist & Translator, Dakar, Sénégal

As the Summit drew to a close, momentum carried into the public sphere. A press conference in Dakar brought together more than 40 Sénégalese journalists. Sénégalese Waterkeepers took the lead in speaking to the media, highlighting the urgent need to halt fossil fuel expansion, strengthen enforcement against pollution, and invest in community-led climate adaptation. Having this level of national press attention was critical — it gave Sénégalese Waterkeepers the platform to elevate local struggles to the national stage, with fellow Waterkeepers from across Africa present to show solidarity and amplify their call.

The African Renaissance Monument best captured the spirit of the Summit. That same spirit was reflected in the unity and resolve of African Waterkeepers, who showed that another future is possible: one where waters are defended, ecosystems restored, and communities empowered.