The Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) has recently organized the 8th edition of the Amphibian Conservation Research Symposium (ACRS), the only international symposium dedicated specifically to the sharing of research and strategies to empower the future of amphibian conservation. This edition was held during the last day of the 9th World Congress of Herpetology (WCH) at the Otago University in Dunedin, New Zealand (5-10 January, 2020). WCH was co-organized by Prof. Phil Bishop (ASA’s Chief Scientist) and attended by 870 herpetologists from 57 countries.

This edition of ACRS was chaired by ASA’s Communications and Partnerships Officer Luis Fernando Marin da Fonte. During the symposium, fifteen talks were held about relevant topics for amphibian conservation such as infectious diseases, climate change, and stories of success. Since ACRS has a strong focus on early career conservation, in order to help build a future for global amphibian conservation, at this edition ASA has awarded four conservationists from around the world with the 2020 Future Leaders of Amphibian Conservation prize: Michelle Abadie (Brazil), Teresa Camacho Badani (Bolivia), James Watuwa (Uganda) and Muhammad Rais (Pakistan). You can learn more about them and the amazing work they conduct here.

Photo © Luis Fernando Marin da Fonte