The South Asian region consists of seven countries (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka) and hosts a total of 632 reptiles (Das, 1994) and 300+ amphibian species. These constitute a tenth of the world’s herpetofauna described until date. Sri Lanka and Maldives are two island nations in the region, the former of which is very rich in herpetofauna. The “tear drop” island is as big as an average state in India, but is richer in biodiversity than many states in India. Sri Lanka was included in the revised Hot Spots of the world along with the Western Ghats of India by Mittermeier et al. (1998). Recent field studies in Sri Lanka indicate that the country is a true Hot Spot for herpetofauna. Recent discoveries potentially increase the amphibian fauna from 52 species to more than 200 species when officially described (Pethiyagoda & Manamendra-Arachchi, 1998). The current published descriptions of herpetofauna indicates that Sri Lanka has a total of 54 taxa of amphibians and 176 taxa of reptiles as formally described. A Conservation Assessment and Management Plan workshop was planned in the early part of 1998 with the objective of assessing the conservation status of every described reptile and amphibian of Sri Lanka. The Amphibian and Reptile Research Organisation of Sri Lanka (ARROS), Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, Sri Lanka and the University of Peradeniya organised and hosted the five-day workshop at the University of Peradeniya campus from 26 to 30 November 1998. The workshop was attended by more than 35 herpetologists from Sri Lanka, at the end of which 173 species and subspecies (taxa) of herpetofauna were assessed according to the IUCN Red List Criteria of 1994. Conservation research and management recommendations were also made species-wise after the assessments were completed. The workshop was facilitated and coordinated by the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, India (CBSG India) and supported financially by the Philadelphia Zoo and the Columbus Zoo Conservation Fund (CZCF). The South Asian Reptile and Amphibian Specialist Group (SARASG), SSC, IUCN, Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force (DAPTF), Wildlife Heritage Trust of Sri Lanka and the Friends of Rare Amphibians of the Western Ghats (FRAWG) were collaborators of the workshop.