InfoNile Highlights of 2025: Water, Forests, Climate, and Cross-Border Stories in the Nile Basin

As we close out 2025, InfoNile reflects on a year of powerful reporting from across the Nile Basin, uncovering the complex and interconnected environmental challenges facing the region. From deforestation in the Congo Basin to sand mining in Uganda, and from the rise of climate-smart agriculture to cross-border trade in timber and fish, our investigations have shed light on the forces shaping the future of water, forests, and agriculture.

This year’s stories not only highlight the pressing environmental crises but also spotlight innovative solutions, community resilience, and the untold stories of people driving change. Whether it’s the battle against illegal timber trade, local efforts to combat climate change, or sustainable farming practices that are transforming lives, we continue to bring attention to those who are creating solutions for the future.

Here are the top stories and special projects of 2025 that have shaped the conversation and sparked action across the Nile Basin.

SPECIAL PROJECTS

Caught in Crisis: East Africa’s Battle Against Illegal Fishing

Illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing is pushing East Africa’s shared water resources to the brink. Spanning Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, this cross-border project exposes how weak enforcement, corruption, and competition for dwindling fish stocks have crippled the region’s fishing industry and left communities struggling to survive.

Through on-the-ground reporting, the series captures the human cost of declining fisheries – from factory closures and lost jobs to conflicts among fishermen on Lake Victoria and other major lakes. With support from the Pulitzer Center, InfoNile’s team documented how porous borders and inadequate regulation are accelerating the depletion of once-abundant water resources. This project calls for urgent regional cooperation, stronger fisheries management, and investment in sustainable aquaculture to protect both livelihoods and ecosystems across the Nile Basin.

Polluted by the Guardians

Lake Victoria, the world’s second-largest lake, is shared by three East African countries: Kenya (6%), Tanzania (51%), and Uganda (43%). With a surface area of 68,800km, and a basin population of 40 million people. In Polluted by the Guardians, InfoNile and a team of scientists embarked on a two-year investigation into the worsening pollution of Lake Victoria – a lifeline for over 40 million people across Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Water samples collected and analysed from key inflows and shorelines revealed alarming levels of bacterial and chemical contamination, far exceeding safe limits for ecosystems and human health.

The findings trace the pollution to untreated sewage, industrial effluents, and agricultural runoff that flow unchecked into the lake. Communities that depend on the lake for fishing, food, and domestic use now face increasing risks of waterborne disease and economic instability. By merging science with journalism, this investigation exposes how governance failures and inadequate waste management are poisoning one of Africa’s most vital freshwater ecosystems – and calls for urgent, coordinated action to save it.

Dredged Rivers

By 2021, about 609 million people in Africa lived in urban centres; this is predicted to increase to 722 million by 2026. In East Africa, most cities are traversed by a river, but their future is hanging in the balance as key waterways are endangered by unprecedented pollution alongside the effects of climate change. Rivers in Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi’s main cities have become dumping grounds, overwhelmed by large quantities of waste and sand mining. Aquatic species, essential to the health of the region’s ecosystems and economies, are disappearing mainly due to rapid urbanisation.

Dredged Rivers investigates how urban growth, pollution, and poor planning are transforming once-vibrant waterways into channels of waste. From Kisumu to Fort Portal, and from Bujumbura to Kigali, journalists uncovered how sand mining, sewage discharge, and encroachment are choking the ecosystems that provide water, food, and livelihoods for millions.

This cross-border project connects local environmental degradation to broader regional patterns of weak urban governance and neglected waste management. Residents and experts describe rivers that have turned from lifelines into hazards – prone to flooding, stripped of fish, and laden with toxins. Dredged Rivers calls for integrated urban water management, enforcement of environmental safeguards, and citizen-driven accountability to restore East Africa’s urban rivers before they are lost entirely.

TOP STORIES

Deforestation of the Congo Basin

From Congo to Kenya: The Long Journey of Mahogany

By Gilbert Koech and Umbo Salama

The trail of prized mahogany wood extends from the forests of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) into Kenya’s booming furniture markets. Despite regional prohibitions and timber-tracking agreements, this investigation uncovers how traders exploit weak border controls, falsify documentation, and use informal routes to harvest and transport logs across borders with little oversight. 

Through field reporting in both countries, the journalists expose the high human and ecological cost of deforestation. Communities in the Congo Basin report loss of forest cover, diminished biodiversity, and weakened livelihoods as forests outside protected areas are felled at accelerating rates.

This cross-border reporting underscores how Kenya’s demand for high-value timber drives deforestation in one of the world’s most critical carbon sinks. It highlights systemic gaps in enforcement and calls for strengthened regional cooperation and transparent timber traceability to safeguard remaining forests and support sustainable forestry practices.

Why Illegal DRC-Uganda Timber Trade Continues to Thrive

By Gerald Tenywa and Joel Tali

Illegal timber from the DRC continues to enter Uganda despite repeated government efforts to curb the trade. Traders exploit inconsistent enforcement at official checkpoints and a thriving informal market in border towns, enabling millions of dollars’ worth of logs to be sold without proper licences.

Local communities bear the brunt of deforestation while governments lose out on revenue that could fund conservation and development programmes. This story reveals the economic incentives that sustain the trade, documenting testimonies from timber dealers, rural landowners, and enforcement personnel. It paints a nuanced picture of the challenges facing Uganda – from competing policy priorities to limited resources for patrols – and urges stronger cross-border oversight to protect fragile forest ecosystems that support biodiversity and climate resilience.

How Illegal Timber Flows from Congo Sustain Rwanda’s Wood Market

By Eric Twahirwa and Kavira Leticia

Rwanda’s growing construction and artisanal wood markets are increasingly supplied by timber illegally sourced from neighbouring DRC. Though over 100 artisanal permits have been issued since 2021, the absence of clearly demarcated logging zones has led to uncontrolled harvesting, often in protected areas like Virunga and Kahuzi-Biega National Parks. Timber is trafficked via routes such as the Kasindi border post, Watalinga, and Bunagana, with the Kasindi crossing emerging as a major export corridor for timber destined for Rwanda.

This story traces the flow of timber across informal border crossings, revealing a network of smugglers and middlemen who skirt regulatory frameworks and mask illicit logs as domestically sourced wood. Once in Rwanda, the timber enters local supply chains, feeding demand for furniture, housing, and energy.

In this story, the paradox facing Rwanda is evident: efforts to control deforestation and support reforestation are undermined by continued dependence on unregulated wood imports. There is a need for transparent supply chain monitoring and stronger regional collaboration to align market demand with legal and sustainable forestry practices.

Silent Plunder: How Congo’s Precious Timber Fuels an Illegal Trade in Burundi

By Arthur Bizimana and Martin Leku

In Burundi, where environmental governance faces resource and capacity constraints, timber harvested from Congolese forests has become the backbone of an illicit trade. High-value logs are transported across Lake Tanganyika through unmonitored entry points, enriching a small cadre of intermediaries while depleting forest resources in the DRC. 

Weak legal protections and limited enforcement allow traffickers to flourish with little accountability. Through on-the-ground interviews and analysis, this story reveals the environmental and social toll of this silent trade: loss of habitat, reduced carbon storage, and communities stripped of vital forest goods. 

Conservation advocates call for stronger governance, increased transparency, and community engagement to protect forests that span borders but share ecological and cultural ties.

Is South Sudan’s preference for Foreign Timber Worth the Price Paid in DRCongo?

By Julie Londo and Philip Buda Ladu

South Sudan’s construction boom and post-conflict rebuilding have increased demand for timber, much of which is imported from the DRC. Lax customs checks, informal trade routes, and high profit margins have created a pipeline of wood flowing into South Sudanese markets with scant documentation of legal origin. 

According to Dominic Lado, a South Sudanese carpenter at Jebel Market, who has been in the industry since the early 1990s, timber from the Democratic Republic of Congo began entering South Sudan’s market as early as the 1980s, during the 21-year liberation war, when Sudan was still one country. While this supply meets urgent demand, it also drives deforestation in the Congo Basin, eroding biodiversity and undermining the region’s ability to sequester carbon. 

This story highlights the need for South Sudan and its neighbours to adopt legally enforceable sourcing standards and to invest in domestic forestry management that supports both economic growth and forest conservation.

Climate Smart Agriculture

Atiak Massacre Survivors Build Hope on Climate Smart Farming

By Simon Wokorach

Survivors of the 1995 massacre in Atiak, northern Uganda, have found healing and renewed purpose through climate-smart agriculture. While their land is predominantly suitable for farming, droughts and floods are affecting crop production and impacting the recovery of the survivors. But locals are slowly building hope through smart farming to tackle the hostile weather.

After years of displacement and trauma, the community has embraced sustainable farming practices, including goat breeding, intercropping, and organic composting, to rebuild livelihoods and strengthen food security in a rapidly changing climate.

These survivors are demonstrating that sustainable agriculture is not only an economic tool but also a pathway to dignity, recovery, and self-reliance. Their success is inspiring similar initiatives among other post-conflict communities across the region.

Madi, West Nile Bishop Championing Resilience to Climate Change Through Tree Planting Campaign

By Matata Benzamin

In Uganda’s West Nile region, faith and environmental stewardship have merged through a powerful community initiative led by Bishop Charles Collins Andaku of Madi and West Nile Diocese. Confronted by prolonged droughts and deforestation, the bishop mobilised congregations across parishes to take climate action through massive tree planting campaigns. 

Seven years later, this initiative has exceeded expectations. Over one million tree seedlings have been planted around churches, schools, and homesteads, over 500 hectares of degraded land have been restored, and over 2,000 households have directly benefited. This movement has transformed landscapes once stripped of cover into green sanctuaries.

By integrating environmental education into church programs, the initiative is reshaping attitudes toward conservation and demonstrating how community-led reforestation can protect biodiversity, restore degraded land, and secure local livelihoods.

How Innovation and Skilling are Helping Farmers Cut Post-Harvest Losses in Acholi

By Julius Ocungi

Post-harvest losses have quietly undermined food security and household incomes for years. But in northern Uganda’s Acholi sub-region, farmers are confronting a long-overlooked challenge through innovative training programs and the adoption of modern storage and processing technologies. Today, farmers are learning how to protect their grain from pests, poor handling, and contamination.

By improving storage practices, adding value to their produce, and gaining better access to markets, farmers are now reducing losses, increasing earnings, and revitalising local economies. This story explores how practical skills and innovation are transforming agriculture from mere subsistence to sustainable enterprise in a region already vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Such interventions are ensuring that every harvest not only counts – but also sustains.
 

Degradation and Restoration of the Aswa Catchment

Sand Mining Increasingly Silting Aswa Waters

By Immaculate Amony

The Aswa River in Northern Uganda, once a vital source of water for communities, farmers, and wildlife, is now choking under uncontrolled sand mining. For more than a decade, villagers in Lira and Alebtong have relied on selling sand to meet construction demand, with families, including women and children, working long hours in unsafe conditions that expose them to disease and accidents. 

While the trade provides income, it has left the river heavily silted, wetlands degraded, water polluted, and aquatic life dwindling. Water insecurity is rising, with failing boreholes, contaminated wells, and only 57% of residents accessing safe water. Weak enforcement and the absence of a national sand mining strategy have allowed the practice to continue, despite its dangers. Local leaders admit their efforts to stop it have failed, while NEMA struggles against illegal miners. 

Globally, sand is the second most exploited resource after water, and Uganda is part of this growing trend. In response, organisations like Join for Water and the Water Resources Institute, with support from the Hilton Foundation, are promoting ecosystem restoration, stronger governance, and community-based water management to protect Aswa while sustaining local livelihoods.

From Tailoring to Tilapia: Lira Man’s Journey from Sewing Machines to Sustainable Wealth

By Nancy Atim

In Bolnyapo Village, Lira District, Richard Obua, once a tailor, has reinvented himself as a champion of climate-smart enterprise through fish farming, beekeeping, and tree planting. Forced to close his tailoring shop during COVID-19, he invested in aquaculture, building ponds and later adding 75 beehives. 

Despite challenges like floods, theft, and land disputes, Obua has steadily grown his income, earning millions annually from fish fingerlings and honey – while supporting his family’s education and nutrition. He has also taken a firm stand against sand mining, a destructive but lucrative activity in the area, choosing instead to promote eco-friendly livelihoods.

Local officials and conservation experts view Obua’s work as a model for sustainable rural development, proving that environmental stewardship and economic resilience can go hand in hand. His ventures not only generate household income but also protect wetlands, biodiversity, and water resources. By scaling such models with training, subsidies, and market access, more communities could reduce reliance on destructive practices and build climate-resilient livelihoods. 

Obua’s journey from tailoring to tilapia and honey illustrates how innovation and resilience can transform both households and ecosystems in Northern Uganda.

Population Pressure Swallowing Wetlands of River Aswa Catchment

By Ambrose Okwanga

Wetlands in the Aswa catchment are vanishing at an alarming rate as population growth, limited access to land and urban expansion are driving residents, especially women, to reclaim and cultivate wetlands for survival. In districts such as Pader and Omoro, residents now grapple with water scarcity and reduced agricultural productivity due to the degradation of these vital ecosystems.

Weak enforcement of environmental laws and limited awareness among communities have accelerated wetland loss. Authorities confirm that around half of Lira’s wetlands have been lost between 2010 and 2020 due to urban expansion and settlement. Experts warn that without concerted restoration and sustainable land management, the ecological and economic costs could be irreversible, threatening livelihoods and biodiversity across northern Uganda.

They emphasise the urgent need for alternative livelihoods, such as small business support, poultry, or fish ponds, coupled with market access, to reduce reliance on encroaching wetlands and preserve this vital ecosystem.

Inside Lango’s Grassroots Efforts to Restore Uganda’s Vanishing Wetlands

By Charity Akullo

The Ministry of Water and Environment in the Lango Sub-region (Lira, Oyam, and Kole), is training local leaders and smallholder farmers to adopt sustainable wetland use. Instead of destructive practices like sand mining and maize cultivation, residents are being guided toward alternatives such as fish farming. One farmer, Alex Emor, now runs four fish ponds in Okole wetland, supplying local markets despite challenges like predators and maintenance costs.

To strengthen conservation, the government has also established village and parish environmental committees, equipping them with bicycles through partnerships with World Bicycle Relief and Buffalo Bicycles to monitor and report wetland degradation. This co-management approach is helping communities curb harmful activities while restoring wetlands, which are vital for biodiversity, carbon storage, and climate resilience.

NileWell Scientists- Journalists Coproduction Fellowship

Egypt’s Tilapia Dilemma: Cheap, Plentiful, but Polluted.

By Rahma Diaa

Egypt ranks first in tilapia production in Africa and third globally. However, tilapia, a staple on dinner tables across the country, tells a troubling story of abundance tainted by pollution. Studies conducted by researchers at the National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries,  at various locations along the Nile River, its branches, and Egyptian lakes, have revealed that levels of pollution, including heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, exceed permissible limits in some aquatic environments. 

This co-production story by journalist Rahman Diaa and Scientist, Dr. Sally Salaheddin, delves into how untreated agricultural runoff, sewage, and industrial waste have contaminated key fish farms and waterways along the Nile, posing serious risks to consumers and the environment alike. Farmers struggle to balance profitability with safety as they confront rising feed prices and declining water quality, which hurt the health of tilapia and other species. As a result, these fish bioaccumulate pollutants in their vital organs, posing a potential long-term health risk to consumers

This report combines data analysis with on-the-ground testimonies from fish farmers and researchers, exposing the hidden costs of Egypt’s booming aquaculture industry. It calls for stronger monitoring systems, better wastewater treatment, and public awareness to ensure that the fish feeding millions do not become a source of harm.

Invasive Plants Threaten Agriculture in Tanzania’s Kongwa District

By Jenifer Gilla

According to the 2022-2023 Government Environmental Conservation Master Plan, Tanzania is home to 220 invasive species, 75 of which have been identified as harmful to the environment and biodiversity. In central Tanzania, farmers in Kongwa District are battling an enemy they did not plant – invasive species that are choking crops, depleting soil nutrients, and threatening food security. 

Weeds such as Parthenium hysterophorus and Prosopis juliflora are spreading rapidly across farmlands, undermining yields and forcing farmers to abandon once-productive plots. Through interviews with farmers and agricultural experts, the investigation reveals that limited awareness and lack of coordinated control measures have worsened the crisis, as documented by Jenifer Gilla in collaboration with Dr Upendo Richard, a research scientist at the University of Dodoma. It underscores the urgent need for integrated management strategies, including research, public sensitisation, and community-led removal efforts to reclaim farmland and restore productivity.

Eucalyptus in Burundi: Between Environmental Challenges and Economic Opportunities

By: Arthur Bizimana

Originating in Australia, eucalyptus was introduced in Burundi during the colonial era in 1931 by the Belgians to compensate for the loss of natural forests threatened by human activities. However, the fast-growing eucalyptus tree has become both a blessing and a burden. While widely planted for fuelwood and construction, it is also drying up water sources, degrading soils, and threatening native biodiversity.

Eucalyptus seems to be a necessary evil for Burundi. This co-production story by Arthur Bizimana and Professor André Nduwimana explores the delicate balance between economic necessity and environmental preservation in a country where deforestation and land scarcity are pressing concerns.  

Through insights from forestry officials, scientists, and local farmers, this story highlights how communities are rethinking eucalyptus plantations and experimenting with mixed-species reforestation. This story calls for evidence-based policies that balance the economic value of eucalyptus with the need to safeguard Burundi’s fragile ecosystems.

Healing Nature, Healing People: Ethiopia’s Endemic Plants on the Brink

By Tewodros Kassa

In Ethiopia, unique plant species found nowhere else on earth are vanishing at an alarming rate. However, deforestation, overgrazing, and land conversion for agriculture are threatening endemic flora, many of which hold untapped medicinal and ecological value. Conservationists and scientists warn that without urgent action, Ethiopia could lose an irreplaceable part of its natural heritage.

By spotlighting ongoing research and restoration efforts, this story draws attention to the critical link between biodiversity and human well-being. It showcases local initiatives aimed at preserving medicinal plants, restoring degraded habitats, and engaging communities in conservation. Jointly coproduced by Tewodross Kassa and Scientist Fikadu, this story ultimately underscores that protecting nature is inseparable from healing the people who depend on it.

InfoNile produced these stories with support from JRS Biodiversity Foundation, IHE Delft Water and Partnership Programme, Global Forest Watch, Pulitzer Center and Climate Smart Jobs