Threatened Frogs of Madagascar

Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali, Torino (2007).

Stapled Booklet

Foreword from Page 3

Our intention is to provide some basic information on the conservation of the highly diverse and threatened amphibians of Madagascar. With more than 235 species of frogs found only in Madagascar, the island is one of the richest "froggy" places in the world. The frogs of Madagascar, however, suffer from a series of threats, including habitat alteration, deforestation, pollution and collection for the pet-trade. Therefore, in September 2006 a symposium specifically dedicated to the conservation of the Malagasy amphibians was held in Antananarivo, Madagascar. The ACSAM (A Conservation Strategy for the Amphibians of Madagascar) identified several essential measures necessary for promoting the conservation of Malagasy frogs. Among these, education and public awareness play an important role.

This booklet, aimed at a wide audience and written in different languages, is intended to show the beauty and importance of these animals, the amphibians, that are disappearing all around the world and are one of the most endangered vertebrates. It is not intended to be an identification manual or a scientific book, although it has been written in a scientific way. We hope that looking at its beautiful photographs the reader will fall in love with the Malagasy frogs, and will help us in their protection.

About the Collaborative Organisations (from page 31)

The Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) is a network of conservation professionals working within the IUCN/SSC framework to promote amphibian research and conservation worldwide. The ASG strives to raise amphibian conservation to the next level by stimulating, developing, and executing practical programs to conserve amphibians and their habitats around the world. The ASG has recently published the "Amphibian Conservation Action Plan" (ACAP), a comprehensive five-year plan designed to halt the current extinction crisis. The ACAP can be downloaded for free from www.amphibians.org. This plan represents a template for amphibian conservation at all scales from global to local scale.

A Conservation Strategy for the Amphibians of Madagascar (ACSAM) is a project designed to achieve the conservation of the amphibians of Madagascar. ACSAM is a monumental effort by committed individuals that represents an important step forward in implementing the ACAP at the national level. The ACSAM has the potential to serve as a model for developing National Action Plans for amphibian conservation in many other parts of the world. News about the ACSAM can be downloaded at www.sahonagasy.org.