Non-traditional ways of raising awareness for frog conservation: guido handimal of Boophis luteus from Madagascar

Abstract.   Considerable momentum behind addressing the conserva tion status of the nearly 500 Malagasy frog species, of which only 300 have been described so far, has come out of the AC–SAM2 workshop held in Ranomafana’s Centre ValBio, Madagascar back in November, 2015. So far approximately 300 species have been described and there are at least another 200 to be assessed as possible candidate species.
Making an emotional connection with common people and stakeholders often creates a much stronger awareness of the conservation needs of amphibians than pure science, lectures and meetings in both Madagascar and elsewhere. As such, one of the most creative outcomes from the Ranomafana meeting has been a recent collaborative project with one of the most renowned body painters in the world.