also available on my blog
http://klintvaz.blogspot.com/2009/05/why-save-frog.html
*Why Save A Frog?*
/A few reasons and some important information for those that think frogs
are not threatened and not on the decline../
Last week we celebrated the international 'Save the Frog' day. In the
south of Goa, volunteers from the Goacan network stood in the city
centre with sandwich boards and passed on useful info-slips, educating
passing citizens that frogs needed to be protected and that it was
against the law to eat frog meat. In the north of Goa, Nirmal Kulkarni,
Roopa Bandekar and Rajiv D'Silva organized an evening that focused on
frogs. The event had a photo exhibition of frogs of Goa, messages from
students taking part in the campaign, an informative presentation and
finally a Frog Quiz that everybody took part in. All of this marked the
beginning of a volunteer driven campaign that will continue through May
and June this year.
Now while we rave and rant about the need for people to stop eating
frogs, and that they ought to be protected, there are quite a lot of
people out there that are still not convinced. In the last few days,
I've been occasionally asked these familiar questions... "There's so
many issues in Goa, and you want to add frogs to that too?" asked a
passerby in Margao. "On what basis do you say that frogs are declining,
if you have no hard data?" asked an editor recently. '(Eating) Frog-legs
is part of 'Goan Culture', so why stop it? Asked a school friend. Why
can't I eat frog legs, if I get it from farmed sources? Asked my
friend's father. Humans have so many problems, is the life of a frog
more important than a human?
While it might be interesting to get such queries, answers to all these
questions is very important in clearing out misconceptions and false
truths that spread faster than proper awareness.
*Amphibians are canaries in the coal mine*
Protecting frogs is directly liked to Climate Change. In 2004, the
International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) completely
assessed amphibians of the world under the Global Amphibian Assessment
(GAA) initiative. The result was alarming: one in three amphibians face
extinction. Amphibians being very sensitive are the first to get
affected from impacts like climate change, and thus, like canaries in
the coal mine, frog populations can warn us of disasters much before
they could possibly occur. The Indian Bull Frog (/Hoplobatrachus
tigerinus/) and the Jerdon's Bullfrog (/Hoplobatrachus crassus/) which
are both found in Goa and hunted for frog meat are even listed on the
IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species in the world that was compiled in
2008.
*Biodiversity Assessments and Indicators Are Enough*
Frogs in Goa are still very much on the decline. While hard data on frog
populations in Goa does not exist, (but should) bio-indicators in Goa
indicate the declining trend. Worldwide, as it is not possible to
evaluate all known species, organizations like the Species Survival
Commission (SSC) works with worldwide partners to cover key taxonomic
groups. This collaborative effort between organizations provides an
effective method for gathering and disseminating the most accurate
scientific data available for biodiversity conservation. While hard data
on frog numbers in the wild will aid in its protection, compiling the
same will be painstaking, and take a few years to see any significant
trends. While that is the need of the hour, we cannot wait helplessly
and claim that all is well in the wild world.
* Frogs help the control of vector-borne diseases*
While frogs can sometimes eat spiders, crayfish and other invertebrates,
the bulk of their diet is insects. Reduction in frog population can
cause an increase in the spread of malaria, encephalitis and other
diseases which are carried by insects. Taking frogs from the wild could
have devastating consequences. Frogs are insectivorous and each one can
eat more than its weight (about 200 grams) in waterborne pests every
day. These pests destroy crops and carry diseases. In some areas of
India, the spread of a plant disease known locally as "wereng" has been
attributed to increased hunting of frogs. Fewer than 50 frogs are needed
to keep an acre of a rice paddy field free of insects: they play a vital
role in eradicating insect pests; they prevent illnesses, and are a
natural biological agent. Insect pests increase precipitously where
frogs are vanishing.
*Frogs can reduce human-snake conflicts*
Frog in the wild serves as food for snakes. These snakes in turn eat
rats which live in the rice paddies. However, when frog populations
decline in the wild, snakes turn to other areas for food, which are
usually human habitations where rats thrive. This results in human
conflicts with snakes. Most snake rescuers in Goa will confirm that the
instances of human-snake conflicts in Goa are on the rise in the past
few years.
*Frog Farming does not exist in Goa or India*
While a few people might claim that their last plate of frog legs was
sourced from a frog farm, that's simply untrue. Frog farms can simply
not exist in India unless there is a change of legislation. Frogs, being
part of wildlife are property of the Government of India, and therefore
anybody claiming to farm them is violating laws as he has Government
property in captivity, even if it might be for a good cause. It's
unlikely that India would permit frog farming, as frog farms worldwide
have been responsible for being the source of disease and viral
infections that soon spread to frog populations in the wild with
devastating consequences.
/Clinton// works with environmental and wildlife issues in Goa. If you
want to help in the save the frog campaign, do contact Clinton Vaz at
klint...@gmail.com <mailto:klint...@gmail.com> or +91 9890936828. You
can report instance of frog catching or hotels serving frog meat to the
Forest Department. Speak to Deputy Conservator of Forests, Mr. Devendra
Dalai at 9423889890/