For further information contact:
Lisette Pavajeau Jo Ann Miles
Communications/Development Officer Fleishman-Hillard
Amphibian Ark St. Louis, Mo., U.S.
Bogota, Columbia 314-982-8624
571- 2139606 joann.miles@fleishman.com
lisette@amphibianark.org


WORLD’S AMPHIBIAN CRISIS COULD LEAD TO
LARGEST MASS EXTINCTION SINCE DINOSAURS

Up to Half of the Globe’s Amphibian Species in Danger of Extinction;
Conservationists Name 2008 “Year of the Frog”

Amphibian Ark to Bring Most Endangered Amphibian Species into
“Protective Custody” for Safekeeping, Eventual Reintroduction

BUDAPEST (Aug. 26, 2007) – Earth is facing its largest mass extinction since the disappearance of the dinosaurs. From one-third to one-half of the planet’s 6,000 amphibian species – frogs and toads, salamanders and newts, and caecilians, which have thrived for 360 million years – are in danger of extinction.

To mitigate this crisis, the world’s leading conservationists have joined together to name 2008 “The Year of the Frog” in hopes of raising both awareness and the critical funding needed to address the crisis. Amphibians are often called “the world’s canaries in the coal mine,” and when hundreds of species are in decline it serves as a global warning to other species.

A broad strategy, called the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan (ACAP), will unfold to protect habitat and address other environmental threats. ACAP’s most urgent initiative, the Amphibian Ark, will develop, promote, and guide short-term captive management of the most threatened amphibians, making possible the long-term survival of species for which adequate protection in the wild is not currently possible. It is being orchestrated cooperatively by the IUCN/SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, the IUCN/SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, and the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA).

“Widespread extinction of amphibians would be catastrophic,” said Jeffrey P. Bonner, Ph.D., chairman of Amphibian Ark and president and CEO of the St. Louis Zoo. “In addition to their intrinsic value, they offer many benefits and are a critical part of a healthy world. They play an important role in the food web as both predator and prey, eating insects which benefits agriculture and minimizes disease spread. Their skin also has substances that protect them from some microbes and viruses, offering promising medical cures for a variety of human diseases.”

Captive management is a vital component of ACAP’s integrated conservation effort, buying valuable time to mitigate threats for species that otherwise would go extinct. Amphibian Ark will bring priority amphibian species into “protective custody” in dedicated, biosecure facilities at zoos, aquariums, and other institutions around the world for safekeeping and breeding. These rescued amphibians will be reintroduced into the wild when the original threats have been controlled.

The goal of the 2008 Year of the Frog campaign is to raise awareness of the crisis among media, educators, corporations, philanthropists, governments, and the general public, and to generate the funding needed to implement ACAP. The Amphibian Ark component alone will cost $50-$60 million.

Sir David Attenborough, patron of the 2008 Year of the Frog campaign, said, “The global zoo and aquarium community has taken on this challenge with enthusiasm and is providing appropriate facilities and breeding grounds within their institutions. But implementation calls for financial and political support from all parts of the world. Without an immediate and sustained conservation effort to support captive management, hundreds of species of these wonderful creatures could become extinct in our own lifetime.”

Amphibians are severely affected by habitat loss, climate change, pollution and pesticides, introduced species, and over-collection for food and pets.

However, the most immediate threat to amphibians is a parasitic fungus called amphibian chytrid, a disease that is deadly to hundreds of amphibian species. Global climate change may have exacerbated the problem. Currently unstoppable and untreatable in the wild, the fungus can kill 80 percent of native amphibians within months.

The ACAP was drafted in 2005 at the Amphibian Conservation Summit led by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and Conservation International (CI). It outlines four kinds of intervention needed to address the amphibian extinction crisis: research to expand understanding of the causes of declines and extinctions; assessment and ongoing documentation of the diversity and changing status of amphibians; development and implementation of long term-conservation programs (including protection of key sites for amphibian survival, reintroductions, and control of harvesting); and, emergency responses to immediate amphibian crises, including rapid response teams, captive survival assurance programs, saving sites about to be lost, and saving harvested species about to disappear.

“It is of utmost importance to raise awareness among national governments, world media, school educators, corporations, philanthropists, and the general public about the fragility of amphibians and the enormous responsibility that each of us has in trying to rescue the amphibians in danger,” said J¨¨örg Junhold, Ph.D., chair of the Amphibian Ark Year of the Frog campaign and director of Zoo Leipzig.

“The outcome of the Amphibian Ark project will be that we will have saved hundreds if not thousands of species from extinction. We also will have developed a capacity both within our institutions and globally to continue to provide amphibian species with care and protection when needed, formed a true partnership between offsite and onsite components of conservation, and demonstrated to the world that zoos and aquariums are essential conservation organizations.”