ASA Mission Statement The Amphibian Survival Alliance is an inter-institutionalumbrella organisation over the amphibian conservation practitioners of the world. It will re-energise amphibian conservation, by coordinating and magnifying conservation efforts to stop and reverse the ongoing amphibian declines.
ASA Summary
In response to this crisis, an Amphibian Conservation Summit was convened in 2005, which resulted in a well-formulated Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP - download it here) and the recognition of the need for a large, multifaceted, coordinated global response. The progression of the implementation of ACAP has been slow and intermittent, and a shortage of funds dedicated to amphibian conservation has made the execution of the ACAP extremely difficult. There have been some successes, but overall the current investments do not match the ongoing problems.
The Amphibian Ark (AArk) has led ex situ initiatives focusing on species that cannot be safeguarded in nature. Thanks to generous support from zoos, 100 amphibian species are now on board the AArk, and the amphibian community is extremely grateful for the role that zoos have played. However, there are at least 800 more species to go that require ex situ interventions – are we up for the challenge?
In 2009, a coalition of organizations, including several zoos, agreed to setup an inter-institutional Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) – an umbrella organization over the amphibian conservation practitioners of the world, that will coordinate and magnify conservation efforts to stop and reverse the ongoing amphibian declines. The ASA will re-energise the amphibian conservation effort and will downscale the ACAP to a local level and engage in policy dialogues using the CBD 2020 targets as a framework for amphibian conservation.
The IUCN recently made the following appointments (on June 1st 2011):
Dr Jaime García-Moreno Dr Phil Bishop
ASA Executive Director ASA Chief Scientist
Jaime and Phil will lead the challenge of this exciting and new initiative and will be working in close collaboration with the AArk and ASG, as well as organisations such as NGOs, research institutions and local communities. In addition, they will be looking for additional support from the zoo community, which plays a key role in conservation, education and outreach initiatives.
The ASA has recently gained the endorsement of the large American and New Zealand Herpetological Societies and as the Alliance gains momentum they will shortly be announcing their own website. In the meantime please visit NZFROG or AArk or ASG to make donations to help us save the World's amphibians from extinction.
