**4.3 Drivers of population decline**

Amphibians and reptiles suffer from anthropogenic stress ranging from negative perceptions to impacts of development. Although amphibians are important part of ecosystem many people have negative perception of amphibians and reptiles. They play significant ecosystem functions such as acting as insect and other arthropods pests control, acting as excellent indicators of success in habitats restoration or highlight the degradation of habitats as they are sensitive to changes in the environmental conditions and pollution [14]. As part of ecosystem function, amphibians themselves act as food for secondary consumers such as birds and mammals and thus act as chain for energy transfer from lower tropic level to the higher levels. Toxins from pollutants can easily enter their permeable skins. For example, in an environment where frogs are dying off, this is probably a sign of pollution which have potential effect on humans as well. They also have known and unutilized culinary potential, economic and medicinal values. The skin of some frogs have been discovered to have complex substances such as peptides which have amazingly been used to treat various skin conditions in humans. Going forward, it is predicated that many toxic substances will be found in the skin of most amphibians [28].

Throughout the world, amphibians are suffering an alarming decline due to climate change, increase in ultraviolet radiation and most importantly environmental degradation or shift in land use land cover types [29]. Although most species of frogs have evolved to withstand perturbations, some frogs are becoming less tolerant to factors that was previously in their habitats such as chytrid fungus [31]. Another factor contributing to amphibian habitat destruction is the surface mining as seen in Bamburi area—former mining zones of limestone for cement making. This surface mining not only contribute a direct mechanical threat to amphibians, but is also

contribute to water pollution, as well as their habitat. Moreover, some amphibians have been affected by invasive amphibians' species who have considerably pose ecological and socio-economic impact.
