amphibians

Re:wild is a global leader in amphibian conservation.

As featured in Nature, October 2023.
As featured in Nature, October 2023.

Re:wild led a global study that helped us identify the geographic regions with the most threatened amphibian species so we can prioritize the safeguarding of these places.

Amphibians absorb oxygen and water through their skin. As predator and prey, they play a critical role both in controlling pests and ensuring the health of other species. They are sensitive to even small changes in their environment, making them important bellwethers for ecosystems that may be in trouble. Along with our partners, Re:wild is taking actions to protect and recover amphibian populations through:

  • habitat protection and restoration 

  • moving species to new locations, away from threats

  • assisted reproductive technologies and biobanking 

  • conservation breeding programs

  • disease mitigation

41% of amphibian species are threatened with extinction.

These declines are driven by habitat destruction, disease, climate change and over-exploitation.

Salamanders are the most threatened amphibians.

Help protect and recover amphibians

$5: 1 week of food in a conservation breeding program
$20: 1 swab to check for disease infection
$50: 1 IUCN Red List assessment for 1 species, guiding actions
$100: 1 day in a school teaching kids about local amphibians
$500: 1 expert for 1 day on an expedition for “lost” amphibians

Re:wild's leadership in protecting amphibians

Re:wild is home to the Global Amphibian Assessment and the Amphibian Red List Authority, the branch of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) that manages amphibian data for the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. We are a leading convener of the Atelopus Survival Initiative, in partnership with the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, Amphibian Survival Alliance, Amphibian Ark, and many others.

In 2022, Re:wild completed the second Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA2): a massive collaborative effort a decade in the making, with participation from more than 1,000 amphibian experts. The GAA2 evaluated the extinction risk of 8,011 (94%) of the world's known amphibian species for the IUCN Red List.

The GAA2 was a massive collaborative effort 8 years in the making.

We engaged 1,000+ experts around the world.

Our experts assessed 8,000+ amphibian species.

What were the results of the GAA2?

We learned that habitat destruction and degradation, overexploitation for the pet trade, infectious disease, climate change, pollution and invasive species together threaten nearly half of all 8,000 known amphibian species with the risk of extinction. As these threats drive amphibians closer to extinction, we also risk losing the wildlife that feed on them, and the balance they bring to critical ecosystems.

What are we doing with the data?

Re:wild is scaling up amphibian conservation. Using the GAA2 results, we've built a model for high-impact conservation that will help drive action on the ground through our local partners. Re:wild is strengthening existing coalitions and enabling the creation of new ones with the ultimate goal of reversing the downward trend away from extinction, and recovering amphibian species worldwide.

The State of the World's Amphibians

The State of the World's Amphibians is a new report by Re:wild, the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, and Synchronicity Earth, that summarizes how amphibians are faring, the pressures on them, and the solutions needed to scale up their conservation and create BIG impact.

Conservation works 

When ecosystems are intact and healthy, species can move freely and adapt and evolve. By protecting and restoring the wild amphibians depend on, we can help them thrive. 

Among the most significant revelations from the GAA2 study is confirmation that amphibian species are recovering where critical habitat protection has already taken place. 

Partners

Related Content

Solutions

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to the interrelated crises of wildlife extinctions, climate change and pandemics. Re:wild works with local and Indigenous communities, conservation partners, governments and others to solve some of the world’s most pressing environmental challenges. Our amphibian conservation approaches include any combination of the following solutions:

Science-based Decision-making

Conducting scientific research, synthesizing data and using that information to prioritize our conservation efforts and enable a deeper understanding of global biodiversity, its status and how best to conserve it.

Protected Area Creation

We identify and prioritize wild places in need of increased protection and work to establish new conservation areas through our local partners.

protected area management

We work to improve management of protected and conserved areas to ensure a safe and equitable future for biodiversity and local communities.

Wildlife crime prevention

Developing community-led and owned prevention strategies that take into account the societal and cultural drivers of wildlife crime, and implementing systems and technology to stop poachers before a crime is even committed.

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conservation breeding, translocations and reintroductions

Creating insurance populations to prevent extinction and active management of wildlife populations to help restore them to healthy and self-sustainable numbers across their natural range.

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Partnering with Indigenous Peoples

Incorporating Indigenous knowledge, practices and values to support Indigenous peoples in protecting and managing their lands and natural resources.

Cultivating Conservation Leaders

Partnering with the next generation, passionate leaders, communities and organizations all over the world to ensure they have the enabling conditions, resources and expertise they need to most effectively protect and manage wildlife and wildlands.

Wildlife crime prevention

Developing community-led and owned prevention strategies that take into account the societal and cultural drivers of wildlife crime, and implementing systems and technology to stop poachers before a crime is even committed.

Read more

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