WATERWAYS: lifeblood of the continent

THE POWER OF WATER

Glance at a map of Africa and, with the exception of the damp, lush rainforest zone of the Congo Basin, it is largely an arid land. It’s not surprising that the continent’s waterways — from permanent rivers and lakes to seasonal wetlands — are often the focus of life: magnets to biodiversity, hubs of humanity.

Rivers have become life-sustaining arteries for the growth and expansion of numerous African cities, from Cairo