WWF Spain is one of the beneficiaries of the 2012 call for grants, with the project “Actions for the awareness and conservation of amphibians in Spain”.

WWF Spain is one of the beneficiaries of the 2012 call for grants, with the project “Actions for the awareness and conservation of amphibians in Spain”.

The initiative seeks to improve amphibian populations at the national level, through actions to improve their habitat at the local level, provide administrations with tools for the management of this animal group and raise awareness in Spanish society globally about the importance of conserving this endangered faunal group.

Thus, the main objective of the project is to improve the situation of amphibians in Spain, through actions to restore their habitat in specific places. It is also intended to promote knowledge about the management measures of this animal group by the administrations, and to achieve greater public awareness of the importance of conserving this animal group.

The specific objectives include:

• To influence the improvement of amphibian habitat at the local level, restoring and adapting water points that are of interest to promote their reproduction and avoiding threats such as predation and roadkill.
• To improve the technical knowledge applied to the conservation of this animal group, through the creation of a group of experts that will meet periodically to share the main threats they face and successful experiences in amphibian conservation.
• To train and raise awareness in society about the importance of conserving amphibians and their habitat, through training and informative actions of participation and communication.

Among the activities that will be carried out, at least six water points of potential interest for amphibian reproduction will be adapted, which will serve in the medium term to improve their population numbers at the local level. These points will be in a minimum of four different autonomous communities and a monitoring system appropriate to each place will be established by integrating them, where appropriate, into the existing amphibian monitoring system (SARE), coordinated by the Spanish Herpetological Association (AHE).

Through the celebration of rescue days and the creation of shelters, the aim is to prevent more than 1,000 deaths of amphibians due to being run over or predation. Thanks to the creation of a group of amphibian experts, which will meet periodically to analyse the situation of these animals in Spain, progress will be made in solutions for their management and conservation.

Among the activities, it is also envisaged that volunteer groups receive training and advice in the creation and restoration of ponds, as well as to monitor amphibians in places where conservation activities are carried out on the ground.