Infectious diseases are considered one of the leading threats to amphibians around the world, causing population declines and extinctions even in relatively pristine areas. Today, despite decades of research, there are still very few tools available for conservation practitioners to deal with the disease when it arrives in susceptible populations. Therefore, there is an urgent need for management-driven research to address and combat these threats. The Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA), with the support of Synchronicity Earth’s Amphibian Endowment Fund, founded in honour of Dr. George Rabb, aims to fund projects on innovative disease mitigation that seeks to tackle this conservation challenge through science, policy and effective collaborations across disciplines.

The ASA Infectious Disease Mitigation Grants will fund innovative projects that inform effective management of amphibian diseases in less-funded regions of the world where the lead or co-lead of the project is an early career researcher/conservationist based in the project country.

Criteria

ASA Infectious Disease Mitigation Grants aim to facilitate scoping and early-stage projects that have the potential to identify and develop effective solutions to the amphibian disease crisis that are scalable and broadly applicable, and that may be candidates for ongoing funding. We will not fund projects that are already well-established and/or have significant funding, although we will consider in situ threat mitigation and communication aspects of projects with funding in place for complementary components. Grants of up to US$5,000 are currently available from ASA, and are organised in collaboration with Synchronicity Earth.

Key priority topics for funding include conservation initiatives and management-driven research that aims to tackle and provide tools to minimize the impact of amphibian infectious diseases. Priority will be given to projects with direct application and relevance to on-the-ground disease management, and to projects that benefit amphibian populations in lower- and middle-income countries and where the lead or co-lead of the project is an early career researcher/conservationist based in the project country.

Likewise, Projects in developing countries that are led by (or integrally include) local partners will be prioritised, as will projects that focus on globally Threatened/Data Deficient amphibian species. While we appreciate efforts to keep regionally threatened but globally Near Threatened or Least Concern species common, our limited funds are restricted to projects involving species that need help at a global level. That said, projects involving local populations of species in serious decline may be considered on their own merits.

Biosecurity is of utmost importance when working with amphibians. All full proposals must demonstrate the strategies in place for preventing the spread of disease, and planning and/or conducting any necessary disease screening protocols. (See also resources developed by PARC and ARC-Trust/ZSL for recommended biosecurity standards).

Application Guidelines and Requirements:

ASA Infectious Disease Mitigation Grants are available to both organizations and individuals. Please download the Proposal Form HERE and the budget template HERE. Application forms may be completed in English, Spanish, French or Portuguese. Completed forms should be emailed to [email protected].

Application Deadline: August 31, 2022

Need some help? Please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected].