Ally previously worked as FFI's Deputy Director of Communications. Before this she worked in media management and PR for clients including comedians Eddie Izzard and Ed Byrne. She has also worked for Melbourne International Arts Festival, conservation organisation Greening Australia and the production company Roving Enterprises.
Amphibian conservation is proving to be one of the most important conservation challenges of this century, with alarming implications for the health of ecosystems globally.
It is well-known that amphibians are indicators of environmental change and biological health. Their permeable skin absorbs toxic chemicals, which makes them more susceptible to environmental disturbances on land and in water. Breathing through their skin means they are more directly affected by chemical changes present in our polluted world – so the health of amphibians such as frogs is thought to be indicative of the health of the biosphere as a whole.
Spotted reed frog, Hyperolius puncticulatus, photographed in Tanzania. Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI
Frogs have survived in more or less their current form for 250 million years – 250 million years of asteroid crashes, countless ice ages and myriad other environmental disasters and disturbances. Frogs have a natural extinction rate of about one species every 500 years, but since 1980 up to 200 species have completely disappeared.
Fauna & Flora International (FFI) has joined the Amphibian Survival Alliance (ASA) – the world’s largest partnership for amphibian conservation – agreeing to support conservation actions and research to address the global amphibian extinction crisis.
Giant waxy monkey tree frog. Credit: Jeremy Holden/FFI
“We are delighted to have Fauna & Flora International join the ASA. FFI’s long tradition of achieving conservation impact in the field is exactly what amphibians need now,” said Don Church, Executive Director of the Amphibian Survival Alliance.
Using a priority actions framework provided by the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, ASA Partners facilitate the implementation of conservation initiatives at all scales, from global to local.
Aldrin Mallari, FFI’s Philippines Country Director, added, “We are very happy to have found allies in ASA, to jointly address the issues of such excellent ambassador species for fragile ecosystems.”
Hop on to Amphibian Survival Alliance to find learn more about how organisations like FFI and others around the world are working together within the ASA for amphibians, the environment and for people.
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