VoNat sets Out to Conserve World’s Largest Frog, Other Endangered Amphibians of Mount Nlonako

Press Release

As the fate of  globally endangered amphibians including the world’s biggest frog, Goliath Frog (Conraua goliath) in the Mount Nlonako Area, Littoral Region of Cameroon continue to be bleak  due to wanton hunting for food & pet trade, and habitat destruction, we at Voice of Nature (VoNat) are pleased to announce the extension of our conservation activities to this area. Under the canopy of our project, Young Amphibians Conservation Stewards (YACS), we hope to reignite in community kids and youths fresh love for amphibians conservation and set in course a serious of actions that will culminate in engaging adjacent communities in conserving the goliath frog and other endangered amphibians species in this area. 

Mount Nlonako is a key melting pot for Cameroon’s biodiversity with nine of the globally endangered amphibian species including Goliath Frog (Conraua goliath), the world’s biggest and most endemic frog species, classified as “Endangered” by the International Union of Conservation Nature (IUCN). Despite their invaluable role in stabilizing the ecosystem and fighting against diseases including but not limited to malaria and yellow fever, these emblematic species risk extinction in the near future due to wanton hunting for food & pet trade, and habitat destruction. We at VoNat think that there is no better time to salvage this than now, and that there are no better group of people to do this with than youths and children, because they undoubtedly hold the key to the future sustainability of amphibians species in this area.

 With the support of the British Ecological Society (BES) and Voice for Nature Foundation, VoNat will in the next 4 months (March to June 2022) engage some 50 kids and youths from communities within the Mount Nlonako Area in a series of orientation and experiential education sessions about the amphibians of Mount Nlonako and their conservation importance. The youngsters will be guided to survey amphibians species within their range habitats, and to also gain traditional conservation knowledge about the species through folktales. All these will culminate in an outreach and community-wide sensitization on conserving the goliath frog and other endangered species of the Mount Nlonako Area using media tools produced with the kids.

We believe that through this project, fresh desire for the conservation of the goliath frog  will be reignited in community kids and youths, and older folks in the Mount Nlonako Area. We also look forward to introducing initiatives that will reduce the over dependent of adjacent communities endangered amphibians species for sustainability.

By Ndimuh B. Shancho