Save The Frogs - And Perhaps Ourselves

U.S. policymakers should get serious about saving amphibians. Most of the world's frogs live in developing countries, which lack the economic resources to protect their habitats and fight the spread of the fungus. Additional U.S. funding for labs already working on innovative potential cures would be a fabulous investment. It is also critical that the U.S. and other developed nations provide financial support to help protect frog habitats in the developing world. Rampant destruction of wetlands and tropical forests around the world could leave many frog species with nowhere to call home.

Beyond that, leaders in Washington should move to create a national strategy to address the overall global species extinction crisis. Currently, with more than six federal agencies involved in international conservation, we still lack any coordination or overarching strategy.

Meanwhile, all over the world, we are losing our rich diversity of plant and animal species at an unprecedented rate. The services provided by amphibians go far beyond their aesthetic appeal. Frogs and salamanders, like the other wild inhabitants of our planet, make the world a better place.

Scientists have concluded we have only a decade to substantially scale up conservation efforts to address this extinction crisis, or face irreversible losses. While time is short, there is still an opportunity to preserve the bounty of nature we have remaining - a task that's critical not only for nature's sake, but our own.

Karen Lips is an associate professor of biology and director of the Program in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology at the University of Maryland, College Park. Her e-mail is [e-mail].