CONSERVATION OF Guttman's Stream Frog

The Guttman’s stream frog (Pulchrana guttmani) has been lost and feared to be extinct for 27 years until its rediscovery in 2020 in the Allah Valley Protected Landscape in South Cotabato Province, Philippines. Limited is known about the species as demonstrated by its Data Deficient status in the IUCN Red List. Therefore, there is a need to generate additional information to inform policies for the conservation and protection of this recently rediscovered species and its habitat. To help realize this goal, the project utilized both scientific and policy advocacy approaches. The former aimed to contribute additional information and establish a baseline for more follow-up scientific studies on the species, while the latter aimed to provide mechanisms to institutionalize the conservation and protection of Guttman’s stream frog and its habitat for sustainability. These approaches were complemented by communications, education, and public awareness activities to generate support and commitment from various stakeholders to improve amphibian conservation in the region. With this project, we highlighted the importance of approaching local amphibian conservation efforts at the science-policy interface.

OBJECTIVES

To generate additional baseline information on the natural history and relative abundance of the Guttman’s stream frog
To increase the awareness of the public about amphibians, with emphasis on the Guttman’s stream frog and its habitat
To generate recommendations for the conservation and protection of the Guttman’s stream frog and its habitat to the Protected Area Management Board of the Allah Valley Watershed Forest Reserve (AVWFR)

SUPPORTED BY

OBJECTIVE 1: Fieldwork

We have been conducting field surveys for the newly discovered population of Guttman's stream to monitor its population and learn more about its natural history and the factors that threaten its existence. Our efforts are still ongoing to explore the logistically challenging high-elevation streams in the Busa Mountain Range, hoping to find another population of this species for immediate conservation interventions. This activity was in collaboration with the Protected Area Management Office of AVPL (under the Philippine Department of Environment and Natural Resources Region XII).

OBJECTIVE 2: COMMUNICATIONS, EDUCATION, AND PUBLIC AWARENESS

Part of my advocacy is to communicate my science to gain support from indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs) for biodiversity conservation. I take this opportunity to share about our rediscovery of the Guttman's stream frog, the current scientific and conservation work we are doing, and what it means for the protected area and their ancestral lands.

I designed a brochure written in the Filipino language to aid the understanding of the IPLCs about the Guttman's stream frog, whose only living population in the world resides in their ancestral domain. It includes information about the species' history, rediscovery, and ongoing efforts to directly/indirectly conserve the species and its habitat.

I also designed a poster about the “Frogs of Mt. Busa” to provide a resource about the local amphibian diversity in the region. Two hundred (200) pieces were produced, which are being distributed to partner stakeholders, including local government units, protected area management offices, academe, conservation organizations, and interested enthusiasts and researchers.

We presented the results of our additional field surveys on the recently rediscovered population of P. guttmani, the threats to and conservation actions done for the species at the 30th Philippine Biodiversity Symposium of the Biodiversity Conservation Society of the Philippines in Butuan City PH in December 2022. Our short paper on the conservation assessment of the species and the need for its uplisting into a higher threat category is published in Herpetology Notes.

OBJECTIVE 3: Policy advocacy

The final output of this project was policy recommendations based on the best available evidence for the continued conservation and management of Guttman's stream frog. We presented these recommendations to policymakers who can best utilize this information to institutionalize our objective of providing policy support for amphibian conservation in the region.

I presented our results at the meeting of the South Cotabato Provincial Development Council. The same was also presented before the members of the AVPL Protected Area Management Board, a multi-stakeholder body governing the AVPL. The former approved PDC Resolution No. 2021-24 and the latter approved PAMB-AVPL Resolution No. 2021-53. The issuance of these resolutions solidified the political support needed for the conservation and management of the Guttman’s stream frog in the South Cotabato Province.

PDC Resolution 2021-24.pdf

PAMB AVWFR Resolution No. 2021-53.pdf

FROG ON THE NEWS

One-hit wonder frog makes a comeback in the southern PhilippinesIn 1993, a lone stream frog was discovered once but never found again in the wild. Herpetologists thought the frog species went extinct before it could be studied. Then, last year, more than a quarter of a century since the frog was seen, two Filipino biologists rediscovered it in one of the least surveyed forest […]

Biologists rediscover rare frog after 27 yearsMANILA, Philippines — After nearly three decades of zero sightings — leading to the belief that it may have gone extinct — the rare Guttman’s stream frog (Pulchrana guttmani) was

Rare frog thought to be extinct rediscovered in MindanaoA pair of Filipino biologists has rediscovered in Mindanao a rare frog species that was thought to be extinct decades ago.