IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group

The Amphibian Specialist Group strives to conserve biological diversity by stimulating, developing, and executing practical programs to conserve amphibians and their habitats around the world. This is achieved by supporting a global web of partners to develop funding, capacity and technology transfer to achieve shared, strategic amphibian conservation goals.

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The world we live in today is changing rapidly and as a consequence conservationists have to develop novel and cross-disciplinary initiatives to stem the global loss of amphibians. Operating in over 40 countries, with a network of 600+ members, the ASG is in a unique position to help direct and implement effective initiatives. In 2005 the ASG led the development of a blueprint for advancing a global strategy for amphibian conservation, this strategy became known as the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan or ACAP. With the guidance of the ACAP the ASG has been able to implement a range of conservation initiatives in partnership with local and international organizations.

During the last six years the ASG’s direct conservation efforts have included:

• Supporting the creation of 14 new protected areas for amphibians in Latin America, Africa and Asia
• Protecting over 22,000 hectares of critical amphibian habitat, home to over 55 threatened or endemic species
• Supporting dozens of species-oriented research projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America and North America through annual Seed Grant programs

Capacity building, education and outreach are all integral parts of the ASGs approach to amphibian conservation, this is shown through a range of programs including:

• A partnership in Sulawesi with the Alliance for Tompotika Conservation where local communities and children have been actively engaged in educational campaign celebrating biodiversity
• A training course for promising herpetology students in Colombia run in partnership with local NGO ProAves and Global Wildlife Conservation.
• A training course in Haiti run in partnership with Panos Caribbean to teach and train young journalists aged 12-18 in biodiversity conservation, amphibian protection, and conservation communication
• Supported the Creation and implementation of 12 National and Regional Action Plans 

The ASG has also Spearheaded an initiative – the Search for Lost Frogs – that supported 126 researchers to undertake expeditions in 21 countries and resulted in 15 species rediscoveries, and counting. The Search for Lost Frogs generated over 700 news articles in 21 Countries with a potential viewership of over a billion, bringing a message about the importance of amphibians to a broad audience.

If you would like to find out more about how you can help with the work of the ASG and our members click here or join our mailing list by submitting your email address below. If you would like to read more about our projects click here.

Members

The Amphibian Specialist Group is a global network of dedicated experts who donate their time and expertise to create a community from where practical amphibian conservation can be advanced based on a solid foundation of science.  This global network consists of over 600 members in over 40 Regions/Countries enabling the ASG to act on a global scale.

The appointing of members to Regional or Country ASG is undertaken through nomination by the Chair of that area (visit our members page to find outr who your local Chair is). An individual’s nomination to the ASG will then be based on his/her interest in being part of the ASG, their willingness to contribute to the group and the ASG mission, and their expertise within the amphibian community. As within any such organization, diversity of expertise is a benefit and for that reason the nomination of seasoned herpetologists through to early stage students are actively encouraged. The ASG is not an exclusive group, however a certain level of expertise is required in order to ensure that the group maintains its role as an advisory authority in the field of amphibian conservation.

This website has been designed as a portal for our members and people passionate about amphibian conservation. Although the site is managed by the ASG, we encourage our members to donate content and each regional or country group has the option of having a specific page detected to their group with the website.

The Amphibian Red List Authority also maintains as discussion forum and assessment review panel within this website. Located within the ASG website means that our members have easy access to the Red List pages and can play an integral role in the assessment of amphibian species.

If this is your first time visiting the website we suggest you visit the following pages to get a sense of what we have to offer. Suggestions on how we can improve the website are always welcome – email us.

• Publications
• Regional Groups
• Projects
• Global Amphibian BioBlitz
• Red List

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