Conservation science is born of an inherent conflict. On one hand it is based in science, an objective, value-free search for truth that leads to general laws, with no a priori desire for particular outcomes. On the other hand it is clearly driven by value–laden goals related to making the human–nature relationship an enduring one. In contrast to an objective science, particular outcomes – such as preservation of biodiversity and protection or restoration of functioning ecosystems – are clearly pursued in conservation. The result is a sometimes uncomfortable merging of two human endeavours – one objective and one value-laden – that are inherently antagonistic and can result in tension. To make this tension creative, rather than destructive, we need to understand how both components are necessary and synergistic in forming a complete conservation science.

When Myers (1988) published his first overview of threatened hotspots for conservation of biodiversity world-wide, most of the 10 areas he selected (for example, Madagascar, the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, the eastern slope of the Andes) were already known to be critically important. However, one of his hotspots, the small island territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific, was an unexpected inclusion in the global priority list. Although well known to botanists as a living museum of unique and ancient plants, and to marine biologists as the site of the world's second largest coastal barrier reef, New Caledonia had been largely overlooked by the international conservation community. None the less, it ranks as one of the world's most endangered biodiversity hotspots and requires an immediate and substantial commitment of conservation resources.

By the early 1990s only 90 individuals of the endangered Arctic fox subspecies Alopex lagopus semenovi, remained. These few survivors are confined to Mednyi Island, part of the Commander Islands chain. The formerly abundant population crashed in the mid-1970s and has never recovered from only 10–15 per cent of its former numbers. In 1983 the Mednyi Island foxes were listed in the Russian Red Data Book. Their demise coincided with the arrival of mange, introduced by seafaring trappers and caused by the mite Otodectes cynotis, which was associated with devastating cub mortality. In 1994, in a unique intervention, we sought to save the population by treating cubs with antiparasitic drugs. That summer, mortality was reduced. A census in 1995 suggested that over-winter survival was at least no worse, although it is too soon to judge whether this intervention can be a route to population recovery.

Before the dissolution of the USSR in 1991, research and conservation of the region's amphibian fauna was co-ordsinated by a network of scientists. The use of similar survey methods made it possible to obtain comparable estimates of amphibian populations in different parts of the territory. Since 1991 the system of research and conservation has broken down as a result of political changes and economic crisis. The scientific community has become fragmented and there is a scarcity of funds available for essential research and conservation. There is an urgent need for the adoption and implementation of conservation measures, both within the territory of the former USSR and elsewhere, in order to prevent further declines in threatened amphibian populations. This paper presents a summary of the status of amphibians in the former USSR, the threats they face and recommended measures to protect them.