article · African Journal of Herpetology
The Katanga region in the southern Democratic Republic of the Congo is a major biodiversity hotspot, hosting 154 documented amphibian species, including 30 endemics. These populations face mounting pressure from mining, logging, agriculture, water management, and climate-induced drying of breeding sites. A review of scientific and grey literature established that 69 percent of assessed species are of Least Concern, 22 percent are Data Deficient, and 9 percent are threatened or Near Threatened. Widespread activities such as mining and urbanisation expose over 60 percent of amphibian species to disturbance, though impacts are geographically concentrated and mainly involve generalist taxa. Conversely, logging and crop cultivation threaten fewer species but carry high severity, driving direct and permanent loss of specialised habitats that sustain endemic frogs and caecilians. Differentiating threat prevalence from severity offers a structured framework for regional conservation planning.
Amphibians are vital indicators of ecosystem health, yet many vulnerable species face rapid habitat degradation across Central Africa. By showing that widespread industrial activities and localised habitat destruction carry fundamentally different severities, this work helps environmental managers and conservation planners allocate limited protective resources where endemic species face the greatest permanent harm.
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The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is a critical region for amphibian biodiversity, hosting 252 anurans and three described caecilian species. Southern DRC, particularly the Katanga region, is a hotspot of amphibian biodiversity with 154 documented species, including 30 endemics inhabiting Miombo woodlands, wetlands, savannas and gallery forests. However, this rich biodiversity faces major anthropogenic threats. Mining, logging, agriculture and water management drive habitat destruction and degradation, while climate change exacerbates the seasonal drying of key breeding sites, making species with restricted ranges or specialised ecological requirements particularly vulnerable. Although 69% (106 species) of assessed amphibian species are listed as Least Concern, 22% (34) are Data Deficient, highlighting major knowledge gaps, and 9% (14) are threatened or Near Threatened, signalling urgent conservation needs. Here, we reviewed the scientific and grey literature to identify threats and estimate their probability of affecting each Katanga amphibian species across five threat categories. Mining and urbanisation showed high geographic prevalence (63.0% and 61.7% of species exposed, respectively) but relatively low mean severity scores (2.66 ± 0.96 and 2.63 ± 1.08 on a 0-4 scale), reflecting spatially concentrated impacts that mainly affect ecologically generalist taxa. In contrast, logging and non-timber crops showed lower prevalence (27.3% and 31.2%) but higher severity (2.47 ± 1.33 and 2.58 ± 1.32, respectively), with 28.4% and 33.3% of affected species classified as Likely threatened, reflecting direct and permanent destruction of specialised habitats supporting endemic species. Distinguishing prevalence from severity provides a robust framework for conservation prioritisation in Katanga.
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DOI: 10.1080/21564574.2026.2687372
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