Amphibian Survival Alliance

Amphibian Survival Alliance
Name	Amphibian Survival Alliance
Formation	2010
Type	Non-governmental organization
Headquarters	Cambridge, United Kingdom
Leader title	Executive Director
Leader name	Tim Halliday

Amphibian Survival Alliance

The Amphibian Survival Alliance is a conservation organization focused on protecting amphibian species through global programs linking field conservation, research, and policy advocacy. It collaborates with a wide range of partners to implement species recovery, habitat protection, and capacity building across continents including work in Brazil, Madagascar, China, India, and United States. The Alliance engages with international frameworks and institutions to address threats to amphibians, working alongside governments, scientific organizations, and communities.

Overview

The Alliance operates as an international network coordinating species recovery, habitat conservation, and threat mitigation for taxa such as frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians through partnerships with organizations like IUCN, World Wide Fund for Nature, Conservation International, Wildlife Conservation Society, and BirdLife International. It supports targeted programs in biodiversity hotspots including Amazon Rainforest, Atlantic Forest, Congo Basin, Southeast Asian rainforests, and Madagascar dry deciduous forests while interfacing with major conservation funding mechanisms such as the Global Environment Facility, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, and Darwin Initiative. The Alliance liaises with academic institutions including University of Cambridge, University of Oxford, Harvard University, Smithsonian Institution, and Chinese Academy of Sciences to translate research into action and aligns priorities with policy fora such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, United Nations Environment Programme, Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and Ramsar Convention.

History and Formation

The Alliance emerged from collaborative efforts among conservationists responding to global amphibian declines documented in reports by IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, World Conservation Union, and prominent researchers affiliated with institutions like University of Glasgow, University of California, Berkeley, Yale University, and University of Toronto. Founding partners included organizations such as Zoological Society of London, Chicago Zoological Society, San Diego Zoo Global, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, and Conservation International with early funding from agencies like USAID, European Commission, Wellcome Trust, and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. The formation process drew on lessons from initiatives including the Amphibian Ark, Global Amphibian Assessment, EDGE of Existence, and regional programs led by Australian Museum and South African National Biodiversity Institute.

Conservation Programs and Initiatives

Programs administered or supported by the Alliance encompass ex situ and in situ strategies, community engagement, and policy interventions implemented in partnership with entities such as Zoological Society of London, San Diego Zoo Global, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Toronto Zoo, and Cologne Zoo. Target species projects have focused on taxa from regions like Peru, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Panama, Mexico, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Philippines, and Indonesia. Conservation interventions integrate disease management informed by research at laboratories such as Imperial College London, Johns Hopkins University, University of Florida, University of Sydney, and Australian National University addressing pathogens identified by studies at Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pasteur Institute, and Kew Gardens collaborators. Habitat protection efforts coordinate with protected area authorities such as IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, national parks like Manú National Park, Serengeti National Park, Ranomafana National Park, and community conservation initiatives linked to organizations like The Nature Conservancy and Fauna & Flora International.

Research and Partnerships

The Alliance fosters research collaborations with universities and research institutes including University of Edinburgh, University of California, Santa Cruz, Monash University, University of Queensland, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador, National University of Singapore, University of São Paulo, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, and Institut Pasteur. It partners with specialist groups such as the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, Herpetologists' League, International Union of Biological Sciences, and conservation networks like Global Wildlife Conservation and Re:wild. The Alliance supports monitoring programs that employ methodologies developed at institutions such as NatureServe, Biodiversity Heritage Library, Global Biodiversity Information Facility, GBIF, Map of Life, and analytics from Zoological Society of London researchers, while disseminating findings at conferences including the International Union for Conservation of Nature World Conservation Congress, Society for Conservation Biology meetings, and symposia at Royal Society and American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Funding and Organizational Structure

Funding sources and partners include philanthropic foundations like the Arcadia Fund, Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation, Packard Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and governmental donors such as UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, Norad, Government of Germany, and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Alliance coordinates with zoological institutions including Association of Zoos and Aquariums, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, and research funders like National Science Foundation, Natural Environment Research Council, and Swiss National Science Foundation. Its governance involves collaboration with boards and advisory panels featuring representatives from Zoological Society of London, IUCN, Wildlife Conservation Society, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and leading universities, aligning operational practice with guidelines from bodies such as Charity Commission for England and Wales and standards promoted by International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Impact and Achievements

The Alliance has contributed to species recovery outcomes documented for critically endangered amphibians in regions including Madagascar, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Nepal, and Philippines through partnerships with Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, and local NGOs. It has supported assessments incorporated into the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and collaborative responses to chytridiomycosis studies led by University of Exeter, University of Melbourne, University of Helsinki, and Oregon State University. Training programs and capacity building have engaged practitioners from institutions such as Wildlife Conservation Society, The Nature Conservancy, BirdLife International, WWF, and regional universities, contributing to policy inputs at forums like the Convention on Biological Diversity and evidence briefs presented to multilateral agencies including UNEP and World Bank. Category:Conservation organizations