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SAVE THE FROGS! is an international organization that has pioneered efforts to improve the welfare of frogs worldwide and has set up an international network of volunteers. The difficulties facing amphibians in Nepal is what attracted SAVE THE FROGS! Member & Scholarship Recipient Bandana Adhikari to the organization. With a Master’s in Environmental Science under her belt, she is keen to pursue a career in the field of wildlife and conservation.
“In Nepal, frogs and other amphibians have received a low conservation priority compared to other animals and they are among the least studied”, Bandana says. As in other areas of the world, frogs play a vital environmental role in Nepal. Frogs are in the middle of the food chain and act as predators for various insects but are also prey for birds, snakes and other animals. Similarly, they help in the control of agricultural pests. Overall, they serve as an important indicator of environmental health as they are exposed to both aquatic and terrestrial conditions.
Rara Lake (Nepal’s largest lake)
Bandana learned about SAVE THE FROGS! through one of the organization’s volunteers in Nepal. “After that, I subscribed to the emails and started noting the activities of SAVE THE FROGS!” she explains. “I also participated in 10th Annual Save The Frogs Day, which was celebrated in Nepal.” All around the world, SAVE THE FROGS! Members are helping with amphibian conservation efforts and Bandana has found the community focus of the organization very motivating.
Save The Frogs Day 2019 in Nepal with Environmental Graduates in Himalaya
Bandana’s background in environmental science is a real asset to SAVE THE FROGS!, as she can speak from her own field experience of researching amphibians in their natural habitats. The subject of her Master’s thesis was the Himalayan salamander (Tylototriton verrucosus), which she spoke about during her presentation at the SAVE THE FROGS! World Summit in Kolkata, India. Her travels to the World Summit were funded with the assistance of a SAVE THE FROGS! Travel Grant.
Himalayan salamander (Tylototriton verrucosus)
One of Bandana’s recent areas of focus has been Save The Frogs Day. Nepal has been celebrating SAVE THE FROGS! since 2009 and has been conducting several programs in various parts of the country. “This year I planned an event involving school children,” Bandana explains. “Presentations relating to importance of frogs and outlining the threats they have been facing were shared with the children. We also distributed posters of frogs to raise awareness for the conservation of amphibians, and we had various fun games relating to frogs.” Bandana’s Save The Frogs Day event was funded in part through a Save The Frogs Day Grant, and was held in partnership with Environmental Graduates in Himalaya.
Himalayas, photo courtesy Biraj Shrestha
Bandana is optimistic about the future and believes that social media can play an important part in encouraging a new generation of amphibian enthusiasts to learn about the work of SAVE THE FROGS!. “We can develop more communication strategies and materials to promote the understanding of amphibian conservation in developing countries,” she believes. “When people understand how important frogs and other amphibians are to the ecosystem, then they will actively support efforts to protect them.”
Bandana’s SAVE THE FROGS! Membership is made possible through the SAVE THE FROGS! Scholarship that she was awarded. For each dues paying member of SAVE THE FROGS!, we award one scholarship to a dedicated amphibian conservationist with financial needs, so we encourage you to join SAVE THE FROGS! today. Thank you for your support and congratulations to Bandana for her dedication to saving Nepal’s amphibians!
