IUCN SSC Amphibian Red List Authority

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) Amphibian Red List Authority (ARLA) is the IUCN SSC group charged with the assessment of these species on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is part of the IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group (ASG). The ASG’s mission is to provides the scientific foundation to inform effective amphibian conservation action around the world.

The original Global Amphibian Assessment, through which all amphibians were first assessed on the IUCN Red List, was completed in 2004. In recent years, ARLA has been conducting the enormous task of updating these assessments and assessing, for the first time, newly described species. As of March 2019, a total of 4,007 amphibian species had been reassessed out of 6,818 species in total. The plan is to complete the assessment of the remaining 2,800-3,000 species by the end of 2020.

Updating the amphibians on the IUCN Red List is essential for providing the necessary factual underpinning for guiding amphibian conservation priorities. Amphibians are by far the most threatened group of vertebrates, and so it is essential that the information on their status is kept current. As the amphibians are updated on the IUCN Red List, this information will also be used for identifying amphibian Key Biodiversity Areas, another major priority.