Amphibians are the most endangered group of animals in Switzerland. In all, 70% of local species are on the Red List of Threatened Species. With the exception of alpine salamanders, all the types that exist in Switzerland are dependent on stretches of water for their reproduction.

In 2001 the government set up the “Federal Inventory of Amphibian Spawning Areas (IANB)” in order to protect the endangered amphibians. It designates the most significant spawning areas and charges the cantons with their protection and maintenance. The aim of the IANB is to maintain, improve or reinstate proven stocks of amphibians.

The inventory currently contains 897 sectors of terrain with a total area of almost 13,815 ha. Sectors that have been inventoried but not yet enforced benefit from provisional protection. Areas of individual sectors range from a dozen square metres to a square kilometre.

The inventory covers a variety of stretches of water and wet areas such as pools, ponds, water-meadows and larger wetland complexes in marshland or alluvial and pit biotopes. All sectors are either characterised by substantial biodiversity or are used as spawning areas and temporary habitat by endangered species or large populations of single species.

The inventory’s spawning areas are principally vital for rare and endangered species of amphibian. Some species are found significantly more frequently in IANB sectors than in other areas. The acutely endangered Italian agile frog (Rana latastei) exists only in IANB stretches of water.