Dr Bishop is the chief scientist for the Amphibian Survival Alliance, a coalition of organisations backed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature which is charged with addressing a worldwide decline in frogs and other such species.
About 3000 of the world's 7000 amphibian species are threatened with extinction. The findings of international research published late last year suggest such species will eventually have no refuge from disease, climate change, and shrinking habitat.
Dr Bishop recently returned from Washington DC, where members of the Amphibian Survival Alliance met other scientists and conservationists to try to thrash out a strategic direction for the fledgling coalition.
An estimated $400 million is needed to try to save the world's amphibians, Dr Bishop said.
Finding a sponsor to join the global alliance was key to moving the amphibian survival agenda forward.
"Money attracts money. Four hundred million dollars may sound like a lot of money, but when you are looking at saving amphibian species, as a whole, then it is not really that much," he said. The amount being invested looking at global climate change was far greater than any comparable fund the Amphibian Survival Alliance hoped to secure from sponsors.
Protecting the "ecosystem health" of amphibians was important, given decreasing species numbers were an indicator which would affect the future of humans, Dr Bishop said.
The University of Otago Department of Zoology senior lecturer said the ASA meeting included representatives from IUCN's Amphibian Specialist Group and an "ark" project set up to protect frogs and other species.
The "global partnership" was working on various initiatives and hoped to announce these soon, he said.
Amphibians
• Under threat: At least 3000 of the 7000 species of the world's amphibians are threatened with extinction.
• Why is saving frogs important?: They have an important role in medical research, including in areas such as antibiotics, HIV, spinal cords and painkillers. One frog which could turn off its gastric juices could have been helpful in stomach cancer research, but that opportunity has been lost because it is extinct.
They are a vital link in the food chain, affecting lives of birds, mammals and insects.
• What should people do to help frog populations?: They should not mess up their environment generally, not use damaging sprays in the garden, preserve water quality and treat water as a precious resource.
