Ecobreves – VENEZUELA: A Plan to Save the Amphibians

By IPS Correspondents and - - Reprint | | Print |

CARACAS, Sep 22 2007 (IPS) - Scientific and environmental institutions drafted a plan to protect the 320 species of toads, frogs and salamanders (five percent of the world's total) that live in Venezuela. Many of them are on the way to extinction in the deteriorated habitats — forests and bodies of water — where they are endemic.

“Although concrete reasons are unknown for the disappearance of species like the harlequin frog (Atelopus cruciger) and others among the so-called striped toads 888, it is related with the global decline of amphibians, blamed on environmental degradation, Jon Paul Rodríguez, co-editor of the Red Book of Venezuelan Fauna, told Tierramérica.

The Ministry of Environment is reviewing the plan, which calls for an amphibian conservation laboratory, tracking of species, educational campaigns and the inclusion of herpetology in the training of biologists, says Celsa Señaris, of the La Salle Natural Science Foundation.