Amphibian conservation is limited by capacity and funding constraints, and so more effective conservation outcomes may be achieved through the use of conservation planning processes that include targets (1). South Africa has a good track record of conservation planning in a supportive environment enabled by good environmental legislation and the IUCN Species Survival Commission. The 4th National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA) for South Africa was launched at the end of 2025. The NBA is a collaborative effort to synthesise the best available science on the state of South Africa's biodiversity, to directly inform national-level biodiversity indicators, conservation planning, and policy development across multiple sectors of government and society, and to contribute to national development priorities. It is coordinated and produced by the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), in partnership with numerous institutions and individuals.
The timing of the NBA aligned well with the Red List reassessments for South Africa's amphibians, which were being finalised as the NBA neared completion. A total of 247 amphibian species were assessed from 10 southern African countries, a region defined by high endemism, limited research, strong biogeographic gradients, and rapidly intensifying land-use pressure.
Key findings of the NBA for South Africa's 135 assessed frog species include:
- 81 (60%) are endemic or near-endemic to South Africa, Eswatini, and Lesotho.
- 29 (21%) are threatened with extinction, with another 13 (10%) near threatened.
- 27 (33%) of the endemic species are threatened with extinction. Recovery of the wild populations of these species is the responsibility of the people of South Africa.
- The South African amphibian Red List Index has shown a slight but continuing decline between 1990 and 2025, with a slightly greater rate of decline between 2016 and 2025.
- The main causes of the continuing declines in frog populations are:
- Invasive and other problematic species, impacting 83% of the threatened species. Impacts range from infectious diseases to the drying out and replacement of habitat by invasive alien plants.
- Habitat loss and degradation due to agriculture, affecting 72% of the threatened species.
- Natural system modification, affecting 69% of the threatened species. Examples include wetland drainage, overgrazing, and habitat burning regimes that are inappropriate for the frog species.
- Climate change, which is becoming an important driver of amphibian declines both globally and in South Africa. Quantifying the exact impacts and their severity, and predicting future impacts, are challenges currently being addressed.
- Most are considered Well Protected (99 species, 73%) by the South African protected area estate. On the other hand, 15 species (11%) are classified as Not Protected and 23 (79%) are considered under-protected (Moderately Protected, Poorly Protected, or Not Protected). Improvement of protected area management is particularly important to ensure the long-term persistence of the most threatened species.
- Almost 50% (17) of South Africa's threatened amphibian species occur in the Western Cape province, which is not surprising given the relatively many endemic species occurring there, a disproportionate number of which are threatened.
The species protection level indicator is a South African-developed indicator that now contributes to a national protection level index. This index measures how well the South African protected area estate protects native species, and includes both coverage and persistence factors. The data used in the calculation of the index includes, for a given species in a given protected area, whether a viable population exists and whether the protected area is effectively protecting the species. Further details can be obtained from the Species Protection Level Index on the NBA website.
The protection level status changed for several amphibian species between the 2017 and 2025 NBAs. Some species moved into an improved protection level category in the 2025 assessment, for example a change from "Poorly Protected" to "Moderately Protected". While 73% of amphibian species are considered Well Protected in South Africa, more than half of the threatened species are considered under-protected. The Endangered Pickersgill's Reed Frog (Hyperolius pickersgilli), a wetland species endemic to the coastal lowlands of KwaZulu-Natal, is an example of how a species' protection level can be improved. This change is attributed to an increase in knowledge of the species' distribution, with surveys since 2008 confirming the species at multiple previously unknown sites, including within protected areas. In addition, through the coordination of a species action plan for H. pickersgilli, significant habitat protection gains were achieved through the declaration of new protected areas and improved management and wetland health at these sites, as well as at existing protected areas. The species was previously assessed as Poorly Protected, but due to ongoing conservation and research effort it may in future have an improved status of Moderately Protected, being present in three newly proclaimed protected areas: the Umgavusa Protected Environment (declared 2023), Meycol Nature Reserve (declared 2022), and Widenham Wetland Protected Environment (declared 2024).
Case study: the effectiveness of the Biodiversity Management Plan for Pickersgill's Reed Frog
A Biodiversity Management Plan (BMP) was developed over a period of five years and gazetted for the Endangered Hyperolius pickersgilli in 2017, the first for a South African frog species. The collaborative nature of the development and implementation of the plan, which brought together 24 partner organisations, was the main reason that significant progress was made towards achieving its goals. Some of the achievements of the implemented plan include; significantly improved habitat protection and management, a successful captive breeding programme, extensive awareness initiatives, employment and training opportunities, and various research outputs and publications in the scientific peer-reviewed literature. A paper assessing the effectiveness of the BMP was published in 2025 (2).
The Pickersgill's Reed Frog Forum was established to support collaboration, and annual meetings coordinated by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife facilitated engagement between government, NGOs, research institutions, and the public. The forum was key to the success of the BMP, fostering resource sharing and unifying efforts.
In addition to strong stakeholder collaboration, the strengths of the BMP included clear and achievable goals, government support, and increased knowledge sharing through annual reports, connecting actions to the six main objectives identified through the participatory planning of the first version of the plan. The BMP is now in the process of being revised, as required by the legislation governing such plans.
Through the coordinated actions linked to these objectives, key achievements included improved habitat management through alien invasive plant clearing and pollution mitigation, leading to improved wetland health; local employment opportunities for more than 140 people; and government support in streamlining spatial planning integration and directing habitat protection processes. Through the Biodiversity Stewardship approach (a mechanism to declare protected areas on private or communally owned land), three sites for Pickersgill's Reed Frog qualified as Protected Environments, one of which was a 127-hectare site gazetted by the government in 2023. Wetland rehabilitation and invasive alien plant removal over approximately 951 ha during the first five years of implementation increased habitat security. The plan helped coordinate extensive monitoring of wild populations, and it provided the impetus for the first captive breeding programme for a threatened South African frog species, leading to the first reintroduction trials for a South African frog species and the second for Africa.
The plan also provided a variety of research opportunities, including six postgraduate student projects, several peer-reviewed scientific publications, and data collection apps to track monitoring efforts. Awareness campaigns included one at the Johannesburg Zoo that reached more than 400,000 visitors, with additional media coverage, environmental education initiatives, and custodianship opportunities helping to expand public engagement to millions of people over the first five years.
Some of the challenges identified include the sustainability of stakeholder participation, inconsistent integration of government processes, and a high turnover of officials that affected the consistency of reporting and diluted the plan's influence on policy. Outreach to the commercial sector, a key stakeholder, was relatively limited, leading to decreased involvement of some stakeholders. Access to educational resources was limited in rural areas, requiring improved communication and better planning.
These challenges, however, represent lessons learned for the next iteration of the plan, and include opportunities for expanding partnerships, increasing landowner and community engagement, improving policy support, enhancing research, and exploring new funding sources and capacity-building initiatives. To help guide translocations and reintroductions, a population viability analysis is recommended, as well as improved methods to monitor captive-bred frogs at release sites. Research on how to improve the rehabilitation and selection of release sites, and the successful release of captive-bred Pickersgill's Reed Frogs and subsequent establishment of wild populations, is underway.
External threats to the implementation of the plan included lengthy legal processes, conflicting mandates, land-use pressures, climate change, social concerns, and funding uncertainties. Some of the conservation challenges include climate change impacts, such as flooding and extreme weather preventing the successful breeding of released Pickersgill's Reed Frogs at release sites. Monitoring efforts were also inconsistent across occupied sites, reflecting resource availability as well as the need to standardise equipment configuration and data collection and analysis.
Going forward, securing long-term funding is essential for ongoing conservation efforts, requiring exploration of diverse sources and funding models, including potential carbon and biodiversity credits, offsetting, and mitigation banking. Climate change, in particular extreme weather events and flooding, has been identified as a key risk. Climate change considerations should therefore be integrated into future BMP iterations, with opportunities for predictive modelling to improve catchment management and ecosystem resilience.
The BMP for Pickersgill's Reed Frog has achieved significant progress since its inception over a decade ago, largely thanks to the dedication and collaboration of a diverse set of participants. The lessons learned have been invaluable in the revision of the plan, and have assisted with developing actions to address emerging threats and ensure long-term conservation success. Future efforts should focus on refining strategies, securing funding, improving the protection and appropriate management of priority Pickersgill's Reed Frog populations, and further integrating climate change and social considerations into the plan.
References
- Lees, C.M., Rutschmann, A., Santure, A.W. & Beggs, J.R. Science-based, stakeholder-inclusive, and participatory conservation planning helps reverse the decline of threatened species. Biological Conservation 260, 109194 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109194
- Armstrong, A.J., Du Plessis, I., Malepa, P.L., Kotze, A., Elliott, F., Louw, S.L., Acker-Cooper, C., Waller, L. & Tarrant, J. Collaborating for conservation: the first five years of implementation of the Biodiversity Management Plan for Pickersgill's Reed Frog, Hyperolius pickersgilli. African Biodiversity & Conservation 55, a7 (2025). https://doi.org/10.38201/abc.v55.7