A third of the planet’s 5,700 amphibian species are under threat of extinction, according to fifty of the world’s leading conservation experts who are calling for an urgent rescue mission to save frogs, newts and other amphibians. Up to 122 amphibian species have become extinct since 1980. Climate change, loss of habitat and infectious diseases are all to blame.
Writing in the US journal Science, the conservationists are proposing a $400m initiative, called the Amphibian Survival Alliance, to dispatch “rapid response” teams to collect endangered amphibians for captive breeding. Surely though its better to tackle the problem at source which means the underlying causes of habitat loss and climate change. What do you think?