Nearly one-third of the world's known amphibian species are threatened with extinction due to climate change and pollution, the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) said in a report released here.

The report said at least nine species of amphibians had died out since 1980 and that another 113 species have not been reported in the wild and are now considered extinct.

Just under 33 percent of the remaining 5,743 known amphibian species are now at risk as global warming heats the earth and deforestation exacerbates pollution and the loss of wetland habitats, UNEP said.

"Amphibians are declining at an unprecedented rate," it said, noting that their extinction rates are "considerably higher" than those for birds and mammals.

Amphibians, like frogs and salamanders have "permeable skin (that) makes them particularly vulnerable to climate change, so they serve as a good indicator of environmental health," said the report, released at the opening of the UNEP governing board's annual meeting.

© 2005 Agence France Presse

###