ABU DHABI, 21 Sept, 05 (WAM) ? A summit of leading scientists agreedMonday to an action plan intended to save hundreds of frogs, salamandersand other amphibians facing extinction from familiar threats such as pollutionand habitat destruction, as well as a little-known fungus wiping out theirpopulations.

The Amphibian Conservation Summit held Sept. 17-19 concluded with proposalsfor a series of actions, including emergency responses to save speciesunder the greatest threat. More than 60 specialists convened by the SpeciesSurvival Commission of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) drafted theseven-page Amphibian Conservation Action Plan declaration,according to a press release from Washington.

It responds to findings in last year's Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA)that almost a third of the world's amphibians are in serious trouble,with dramatic declines since the 1980s signaling one of the worst extinctioncrises of our time.

'We still have time to save these threatened species if appropriate conservationaction is taken now,' said Claude Gascon, chairman of the IUCN GlobalAmphibian Specialist Group and senior vice-president of Conservation International(CI). "This is kind of a Noah's Ark situation for amphibians, particularlybecause of the fungus. It is so deadly where it occurs, there really isno hope of saving a lot of these species if we leave them in the wild."According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, 1,856 of the 5,743known amphibian species ? almost one in three ? are threatened with extinction.

By comparison, one in eight birds face a similar level of threat, andone in four mammals.

The reasons are varied and all relate to the impact of humans on Earth- habitat loss, pollution, over-harvesting of species, and climate change.

They often act in combination to exacerbate the declines.

In addition, a new and serious threat is a chytrid fungal disease Batrachochytriumdendrobatidis that kills amphibians by attacking their sensitive skins.

The little known pathogen was first identified six years ago and so farcannot be controlled in the wild.

The action plan adopted at the summit addresses the key issues affectingthe world's amphibians, and is divided into four key strategies: - Understanding the causes of declines and extinctions , Documentingamphibian diversity and how it is changing , Developing and implementinglong-term conservation programs and Delivering emergency responsesto crises. 'As a short-term response to prevent extinctions, the establishmentof captive assurance colonies for the 200 or so most threatened speciesappears to be a promising option,' said Simon Stuart, senior directorof the IUCN/Biodiversity Assessment Unit and leader of the GAA research.

The plan also calls for research into the control and elimination ofthe fungal disease in the wild, as well as greater habitat protection,to maintain or re-establish viable wild amphibian populations in the future.

'Habitat destruction still remains the main threat to amphibians worldwide,and habitat conservation must continue as a priority' said Jim Collins,chair of the Declining Amphibian Population Task Force. 'Amphibians oftenoccur in relatively small areas and are more susceptible to extinctiondue to habitat loss or degradation than most other vertebrates.' The sharpdecline in amphibian populations could be ominous for all life on theplanet. Because they live on land and in water, and their porous skinsabsorb oxygen and water, amphibians could be the first group to feel theeffects of environmental changes from pollution, climate change and othercauses.