Help - Conservation Needs Assessments

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This page briefly introduces groups that are relevant to global amphibian conservation efforts, the Amphibian Ark, the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums, the Amphibian Specialist Group and the Amphibian Survival Alliance, the Reintroduction Specialist Group, and regional and national zoo and aquarium associations.

If you would like any further information about conservation needs assessments, or about the assessment program, please email info@ConservationNeeds.org.

Amphibian Ark
The global conservation community formulated a response to the amphibian crisis in the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan, and an integral part of that response was forming the Amphibian Ark (AArk), in which select species that would otherwise go extinct are maintained in captivity until they can be secured in the wild. Without immediate captive management as a stopgap component of an integrated conservation effort, hundreds of species could become extinct.

The AArk is a joint effort of three principal partners: the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA), the IUCN SSC Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG, now Conservation Planning Specialist Group, CPSG), and the IUCN Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG). AArk is a partner in the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA).

The AArk’s vision is the world’s amphibians safe in nature, and its mission is ensuring the survival and diversity of amphibian species focusing on those that cannot currently be safe-guarded in their natural environments.

More information can be found on the AArk web site.

IUCN Conservation Planning Specialist Group
The Conservation Planning Specialist Group (CPSG)’s mission is to save threatened species by increasing the effectiveness of conservation efforts worldwide. For over 30 years, the CPSG has accomplished this by using scientifically sound, collaborative processes that bring together people with diverse perspectives and knowledge to catalyze positive conservation change. They provide species conservation planning expertise to governments, Specialist Groups, zoos and aquariums, and other wildlife organizations.

CPSG transforms passion for wildlife into effective conservation.

More information can be found on the CPSG web site.

World Association of Zoos and Aquariums
The World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) is the unifying organisation for the world zoo and aquarium community. WAZA’s vision is the full conservation potential of world zoos and aquariums is realised. This vision statement expresses WAZA's overall long-term goal of ensuring that the huge potential of zoos and aquariums throughout the world to contribute to species and habitat conservation and sustainability is fully realized.

WAZA's mission is to be the voice of a worldwide community of zoos and aquariums and a catalyst for their joint conservation action. This mission statement articulates WAZA's special role or ‘niche' in achieving the vision as the global communication platform and representative for a major part of the world zoo and aquarium community; as well as the global catalyst for joint conservation action, business development, marketing, sustainability and membership.

More information can be found on the WAZA web site.

Amphibian Specialist Group
The Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG) is a global network of dedicated experts who donate their time and expertise to create a community from where practical amphibian conservation can be advanced based on a solid foundation of science. This global network consists of over 300 members in over 40 regions/countries enabling the ASG to act on a global scale.

Its mission is to conserve biological diversity by stimulating, developing, and executing practical programs to conserve amphibians and their habitats around the world.

The ASG will ensure long-term sustainability of amphibian research and conservation by building on the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force’s worldwide network of expert working groups and integrating them into the IUCN’s global network of Specialist Groups. ASG will support development and dissemination of new tools and best practices for adoption and application by a network of local, national, and regional working groups.

More information can be found on the ASG web site.

Amphibian Survival Alliance
The Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) is the world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation, and it protects amphibians and their habitats through dynamic partnerships worldwide. It envisions a world in which the extinction of known threatened species of amphibians has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained.

By focusing on amphibians, and the sites and habitats upon which they depend, the ASA is working to improve the quality of life for amphibians, for other wildlife (biodiversity), and for people around the world.

More information can be found on the ASA web site.

IUCN Reintroduction Specialist Group
The IUCN Reintroduction Specialist Group (RSG) manages a secretariat and network of global voluntary members and aims to provide reintroduction practitioners with tools such as reintroduction guidelines, networking resources and publications to provide a means for distributing information on reintroduction projects.

Its mission is to combat the ongoing and massive loss of biodiversity by using reintroductions as a responsible tool for the management and restoration of biodiversity through actively developing and promoting sound inter-disciplinary scientific information, policy, and practice to establish viable wild populations in their natural habitats.

The RSG primarily promotes the reintroduction of viable populations of animals and plants back to their natural ecosystems, thereby significantly contributing to conservation efforts worldwide, and it plays a vital role in conservation by reintroducing species that are becoming rare or extinct, back to their natural ecosystems. Through its pioneering interdisciplinary practices and successful collaborations and partnerships, the RSG increasingly provides effective solutions to conservation.

More information can be found on the RSG web site.

Regional and national zoo and aquarium associations
There are a large number of regional and national zoo and aquarium associations, with some of the larger ones managing national or regional captive breeding programs. The following associations are all members of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums:

ACOPAZOA (Colombian Association of Zoos and Aquariums)
AFDPZ (Association Française des Parcs Zoologiques)
AIZA (Iberian Association of Zoos & Aquaria)
ALPZA (Latin American Zoo & Aquarium Association)
AMACZOOA (Mesoamerican & Caribbean Zoos & Aquaria Association)
AZA (Association of Zoos & Aquariums)
AZCARM (Asociacion de Zoologicos, Criaderos y Acuarios de Mexico AC)
BIAZA (British & Irish Association of Zoos & Aquariums)
CAZA (Canada's Accredited Zoos and Aquariums)
DAZA (Danish Zoological Gardens & Aquaria)
DTG (Deutsche Tierpark-Gesellschaft e.V.)
DWV (Deutscher-Wildgehege-Verband e.V.), Tiergarten Sababurg
EARAZA (Eurasian Regional Association of Zoos & Aquariums)
EAZA (European Association of Zoos & Aquaria)
JAZA (Japanese Association of Zoos & Aquariums)
PAAZA (Pan-African Association of Zoos & Aquaria)
SAZA-SDF (Swedish Association of Zoological Parks & Aquaria)
SAZARC (South Asian Zoo Association for Regional Cooperation)
SEAZA (South East Asian Zoo Association)
UCSZOO (Union of Czech and Slovak Zoos)
UIZA (Italian Union of Zoos & Aquaria)
VDZ (German Federation of Zoological Gardens)
ZAA (Zoo and Aquarium Association Australasia)

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