Concern about the status of amphibians has triggered unprecedented efforts to monitor a whole class of species wherever they are found around the world.
The Amphibian Red List Authority (ARLA) is a program overseen by the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG).
It has coordinated the efforts of scientists all around the world to evaluate the status of all known amphibian species and to develop Red List extinction risk assessments for as many as possible.
In 2023, the ARLA concluded its second Global Amphibian Assessment.
The State of the World's Amphibians report
The State of the World's Amphibians: The Second Global Amphibian Assessment comprises more than a decade of research on amphibians by over 1,000 amphibian experts. It has assessed over 8,000 species worldwide.
The initial global assessment, completed in 2004, was the first study to confirm the unfolding amphibian extinction crisis that many amphibian researchers had suspected for some time.
Now, the Second Global Amphibian Assessment shows that the conservation status of the world’s amphibians has continued to deteriorate.
Hotspots of threatened amphibians
The Global Amphibian Assessment has shown amphibians to be threatened wherever they are found around the world. However, by far the most threatened amphibian species are found in countries with mountainous tropical forests and on tropical islands.
The State of The World’s Amphibians report identifies nine countries that are at the forefront of the current amphibian extinction crisis, each home to more than 100 threatened species:
Nine countries have more than 100 threatened species. Colombia ranks highest for number of threatened species (301) followed closely by neighboring Ecuador (291). As expected, this list is dominated by megadiverse countries, although there are notably two missing, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which have only 29 and 27 threatened species respectively. In contrast, Madagascar ranks 12th for total diversity but 6th for threatened species.
The report emphasizes the need for a holistic approach to conservation, where Amphibian Ark and our partners from IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group and Amphibian Survival Alliance are highlighted as key players to bridge amphibian ex situ and in situ conservation for a future where amphibians thrive in nature.
