ASG Regional Team:
Regional Chair: Dr. Jeanne Tarrant
Geographic coverage: Lesotho, South Africa, Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Malawi.
ASG Southern Africa is closely related to Anura Africa, where more information can be found.
The process to update southern Africa’s Red List assessments began in 2022, coordinated by the Endangered Wildlife Trust and supported by Re:Wild, IUCN Amphibian Red List Authority and Synchronicity Earth. Over 150,000 occurrence records for the 246 frog species occurring across the 10 countries in the region were collated and spatial maps updated to reflect the currently understood distribution of these species. With the input of over 20 individuals working in the region, this process culminated in the expert workshop that was held in April 2024. Over the course of 4 days, priority species were assessed, including 7 Critically Endangered (CR), 18 Endangered (EN), 6 Vulnerable (VU), 14 Near Threatened (NT), 30 Data Deficient (DD) and 26 Not Evaluated (NE). A further 230 ‘Least Concern’ species will also be evaluated as part of the process. So far, all NE and DD endemic species for South Africa have been able to be assigned a status, baring one DD species, a Rain Frog for which only four non-confirmed records exist. Several DD species from the broader region remain in this category due to insufficient knowledge to inform assessments. Quite a few changes in status are expected as a result of recalculations of Extent and Area of Occurrence, with a reduction in the number of CR and NT species, but increases in EN and VU. These assessments lead the way for the 3rd Global Amphibian Assessment, and the outcomes of these assessments will be critical for updating the conservation and research strategy for the region. We aim to have these updates published on the IUCN Red List before the end of 2024, as well as to have these assessments inform Green List Status for selected species, a first for the region.
“An invigorating but intense week of red list assessments for the southern African region’s frogs. Such an important process to inform conservation planning, and to understand the status of our amphibian biodiversity. A huge thanks to the 20 experts who attended and contributed to this important body of work 
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