About the Asian Congress of Herpetology

Bridging Asian Herpetology

Asia is home to an extraordinary proportion of the world's amphibian and reptile diversity. From the Himalaya and the great river systems of South and Southeast Asia to the tropical forests of Sundaland, the islands of Wallacea, the mountains of East Asia, the deserts of Central and Western Asia, and the vast archipelagos of the Indo-Pacific, the continent represents one of the most biologically complex regions on Earth.

Yet the scientific community studying this diversity remains remarkably fragmented.

The Asian Congress of Herpetology (ACH) was conceived from a simple but important idea: Asian herpetology needs a stronger continental platform of its own.

For decades, herpetologists across Asia have made major contributions to taxonomy, systematics, evolution, ecology, conservation, wildlife health, snakebite research and many other fields. However, opportunities for researchers from different parts of Asia to meet regularly, develop collaborations, share expertise, train younger scientists and build long-term scientific networks across national boundaries remain limited.

ACH was created to help close that gap.

The Asian Congress of Herpetology (ACH) is held, bringing together researchers, students, conservation practitioners, museums, universities, government agencies, healthcare specialists, scientific societies, NGOs, publishers, technology providers, industry partners and other stakeholders from throughout Asia and beyond.

Our theme,

“Bridging Asian Herpetology: Discovery, Diversity and Conservation in a Changing World”

reflects both the scientific breadth of the Congress and its larger purpose.

Why Asia?

Asian herpetology cannot be understood within national borders.

Species, ecosystems, evolutionary histories and environmental threats connect the continent. Mountain systems extend across countries. River basins cross political boundaries. Islands share complex geological histories. Wildlife trade operates through international networks. Emerging diseases can spread across regions. Climate change affects entire landscapes. Snakebite remains a major public-health challenge across much of tropical Asia.

The scientific questions are regional. Many of the solutions must therefore also be regional.

At the same time, Asia contains enormous differences in research capacity. Some countries possess advanced molecular laboratories, major natural history collections, and well-established research universities. At the same time, scientists elsewhere may work with limited funding, equipment, collections, literature access or opportunities for international collaboration.

Geography, language, funding, institutional capacity and unequal access to scientific networks can further isolate researchers—particularly students and early-career scientists.

ACH seeks to turn this diversity of circumstances into a strength by creating a platform through which knowledge, expertise, facilities, training and opportunities can circulate more effectively within Asia.

From Competition to Collaboration

The future of Asian herpetology requires more than individual projects and occasional conferences.

It requires networks

ACH is therefore designed not simply as a place to present completed research, but as a place where new research begins.

Taxonomists should meet genomic scientists. Field ecologists should meet spatial-data specialists. Museum curators should meet young researchers searching for comparative material. Conservation practitioners should meet policymakers. Venom researchers should meet clinicians and antivenom producers. Universities should meet potential institutional partners. Students should meet future supervisors and collaborators.

Most importantly, researchers from different Asian countries should meet one another.

By strengthening South–South, South–East, East–Southeast and wider intra-Asian scientific collaboration, ACH aims to create opportunities for joint research, student exchanges, shared field projects, museum and collection studies, laboratory collaboration, training programs, joint publications and long-term institutional partnerships.

Herpetology Beyond Herpetology

Amphibians and reptiles are not isolated subjects of natural-history research. They intersect with some of the most important challenges facing modern society.

They contribute to ecosystem function and agricultural systems. Their populations can reveal environmental change. Their biology informs evolutionary and biomedical research. Snake venoms provide both a major public-health challenge and opportunities for pharmaceutical discovery. Gecko adhesion and reptilian locomotion have inspired developments in engineering and robotics. Emerging amphibian diseases demonstrate the importance of wildlife health and biosecurity. Genomics, environmental DNA, artificial intelligence, bioacoustics, GIS and remote sensing are transforming how biodiversity is discovered and monitored.

Wildlife trade connects herpetology with economics, livelihoods, regulation, law enforcement and CITES. Climate change and infrastructure development connect it with landscape planning and public policy.

ACH therefore deliberately reaches beyond the traditional boundaries of herpetology.

The Congress brings together discovery, evolution, ecology, conservation, medicine, public health, biotechnology, agriculture, engineering, artificial intelligence, environmental monitoring, education, policy and responsible industry around a common biological foundation: amphibians and reptiles.

Building the Next Generation

A continental scientific community cannot be sustainable without investing in its next generation. For this reason, students and early-career researchers are central to ACH rather than peripheral participants.

ACH will be preceded by the Asian Herpetology Summer School, providing intensive opportunities for scientific training, field experience, laboratory learning and interaction with established researchers.

During the Congress, workshops, professional training, scientific sessions, networking opportunities and interactions with senior researchers will further connect younger scientists with the broader Asian research community.

A defining principle of ACH is that every accepted abstract is given an oral presentation opportunity. The objective is simple: young scientists should not merely attend an international congress; they should have the opportunity to stand before their scientific community, communicate their research, receive feedback and become part of the conversation.

Student travel support, registration assistance, mentoring, training and young-researcher recognition will progressively become important components of the ACH framework.

From Discovery to Impact

Asia continues to yield extraordinary numbers of previously undocumented amphibians and reptiles. Discovery, however, is only the beginning.

Species must be documented rigorously. Collections must be maintained. Data must be accessible. Research must be communicated effectively. Scientific papers must meet international standards. Threatened species require conservation action. Research findings must reach governments, communities and other decision-makers.

ACH therefore seeks to strengthen the entire pathway:

Discovery → Research → Training → Publication → Collaboration → Conservation → Policy → Impact

Scientific writing, peer review, journal development, biodiversity databases, open scientific communication and responsible use of emerging technologies will consequently form part of the broader ACH agenda.

The objective is not simply to produce more science, but to produce better-connected, visible, rigorous and consequential Asian science.

What Happens After the Congress?

ACH is intended to be a beginning, not an endpoint.

The value of a congress should not be measured only by how many people attend, how many presentations are delivered or how many photographs are taken. Its real value lies in what continues after everyone returns home.

ACH therefore aims to use each Congress to identify scientific priorities, emerging threats, capacity gaps and opportunities for regional cooperation.

Post-Congress initiatives may include the development of collaborative research networks, thematic working groups, regional training activities, student and researcher exchanges, joint publications, shared biodiversity initiatives, institutional partnerships and follow-up scientific meetings.

Relationships established during ACH should mature into projects. Discussions should become collaborations. Training should generate new expertise. Data should become publications. Publications should inform conservation. And young participants should eventually become the scientists who lead future congresses.

A Congress Built for the Future

The challenges facing Asian amphibians and reptiles are changing rapidly.

Habitat loss, infrastructure expansion, climate change, emerging diseases, wildlife trafficking, pollution, invasive species and increasing human–wildlife interactions will require increasingly sophisticated responses. At the same time, genomics, environmental DNA, artificial intelligence, remote sensing, automated monitoring and new biomedical technologies are changing what scientists are capable of doing.

ACH intends to keep Asian herpetology connected to both sides of that equation: the emerging challenges and the emerging solutions.

Through scientific symposia, plenary lectures, training, policy dialogue, interdisciplinary sessions and collaboration with universities, governments, conservation organizations, healthcare professionals and responsible industry, each Congress will examine not only what we know today, but what Asian herpetology must be prepared to address tomorrow.

One Region. Many Nations. One Scientific Community.

ACH does not seek to replace national herpetological societies, specialist groups or existing conferences. It seeks to connect them.

Our ambition is to create a common meeting ground where the enormous scientific diversity of Asia can be shared without losing the strength of its national and local communities.

The first Asian Congress of Herpetology begins in Yogyakarta in August 2027.

But its larger objective extends far beyond four days and far beyond one city.

It is about building a durable network of researchers, institutions and future scientists capable of discovering, understanding and conserving Asia's amphibians and reptiles—and ensuring that knowledge generated in Asia contributes powerfully to science, conservation and human well-being throughout the world.

ACH is where that network begins.....