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Amphibian Conservation Workshop in India
By Don Church
On August 8, 2011, a workshop
entitled ‘Advancing frontiers of
amphibian conservation’ was held at
the Kerala Forest Department Auditorium
in Thiruvananthapuram, India. The Chief
Minister of Kerala, Oommen Chandy,
inaugurated the workshop that was jointly
organized by the University of Delhi and the
Kerala State Forest Department.
Minister for Forests, K.B Ganesh Kumar,
presided over the function. Prof Dinesh
Singh, Vice Chancellor of the University
of Delhi, S D Biju, faculty of the Department Environmental
Biology of University of Delhi and Forest Chief Conservator T.M
Manoharan were also present, in addition to over 100 Forest
Department officials from the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat. In addition, the meeting
was attended by several journalists and resulted in over 30
newspaper articles and a forthcoming CNN-IBN special report
that will address amphibian conservation in India.
Herpetologists presented their most current analyses of species
richness, diversity and conservation priorities within specific
areas of the Western Ghats. Forest Department officials delivered
presentations that overviewed how their current management
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy inaugurates the workshop, ‘Advancing frontiers of amphibian conservation’.
practices address amphibian conservation needs. Chief Minister
Chandy announced, “Government will take all necessary steps to
protect the amphibian community”. Following the workshop he
has begun to schedule meetings with biologists to discuss next
steps toward advancing conservation actions for amphibians.
An interactive closing session was led by CNN-IBN journalist,
Bahar Dutt, to address how media can better report on the
situation amphibians are in and what needs to be done to reverse
their declines.
Funding for the workshop was provided by the US Fish and
Wildlife Service, Global Wildlife Conservation, Kerala State Forest
Department, and the University of Delhi.
More Frog Bounties
from India’s Peninsular
Mountains
By Robin Abraham
India’s Western Ghats mountain range has been in the news,
on and off in the recent past for a wide array of biological
discoveries made here. This is thanks to an increasing spurt
of interest by various experts, which has only added stronger
evidence to the significance of these ancient mountains as a very
important biodiversity hotspot 1 . Amphibians are one group that
has been at the forefront of these discoveries here. Over a period
of ten years from the year 2000 to 2010, almost 40 new species of
frogs have been described under various genera and even a new
family, all of which are restricted to the Western Ghats. In fact,
more than 85% of frog species found in this region are endemic.
But, the discovery of an additional ten species this year takes the
total tally of documented frog species in the Western Ghats to
145. A team led by Dr. Anil Zachariah announced these novelties
in August 2011 2,3 . Dr. Zachariah was fundamental in supporting
the expeditions that lasted close to five years, mainly sustained by
his veterinary practice in the Department of Animal Husbandry
The Western Ghats hold many microhabitats that supports an exceptional diversity of
amphibians. Photo: Robin Abraham
in Wayanad, Kerala. The other team members constituted of Prof.
E. Kunhikrishnan of the University of Kerala, C. Radhakrishnan,
K.P. Dinesh and M. Jafer Palot of the Zoological Survey of India,
voluntary researchers S. Kalesh and C.K. Vishnudas along with
two keen, enthusiastic young naturalists, Sandeep Das and David
Raju.
FrogLog Vol. 98 | September 2011 | 19