This species does not produce hybridogenetic hybrids (Guerrini et al. 1997).

Global and European regional assessment: Near Threatened (NT)
EU 27 regional assessment: Vulnerable (VU)

This European endemic species is assessed as Near Threatened globally because its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 25,660 km², it occurs in ten or fewer threat-defined locations, and there is continuing decline in the extent and quality of its habitat, thus making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable under criterion B. The area of occupancy (AOO) may be restricted at the global level, but this value has not been estimated due to the lack of georeferenced locality data for Albania, and the species should be reassessed if these data become available, as it is likely that the global is at the least, less than the threshold for Vulnerable.

The species is assessed as Vulnerable (2ab(iii)) under criterion B for the EU27 member states as the area of occupancy (AOO) is 332 km² (E.-A. Toli, Greece national Red List assessment), it occurs in fewer than ten threat-defined locations, and there is continuing decline in the extent of quality of its habitat.

The Epirus Water Frog is restricted to western Greece along the Ionian coast (including the island of Kerkyra; Valakos et al. 2008) and from the wetlands in the district Sarandë in south-western Albania (Jablonski 2011, Szabolcs et al. 2017), from sea level up to around 500 m asl. In mainland Greece, the Epirus Water Frog only occurs  west of the Pindos Mountain range and in the western Peloponnese, while its insular distribution is limited to Corfu, and reports from Zakynthos Island are doubtful and need confirmation (E.-A. Toli, Greece national Red List assessment). There are recent reports (Strachinis 2021) of individuals of the species east of the Pindos range and outside the currently accepted geographic range, however, a more comprehensive survey is required to determine if there is an established Epirus Water Frog population east of the Pindos Mountains.

The majority of its range is within Greece (Europe Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). It seems likely that subpopulations of this species are fragmented because there are extensive areas of unsuitable habitat within its range. Its extent of occurrence (EOO) is 25,660 km² globally. In the EU, the EOO is marginally smaller, at 25,439 km². The area of occupancy AOO) has not been estimated globally due to the absence of georeferenced data for Albania. For the EU, the AOO from the Greece national Red List assessment (E.-A. Toli) is used here, 332 km².

This species has been described as quite abundant throughout much of its range (Gasc et al. 1997) and it is considered to be common in Albania (Europe Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). Some subpopulations are believed to be in decline due to the ongoing decline in the extent and quality of the habitat, the population is suspected to be decreasing.

This species is mostly aquatic and is commonly associated with still waters (lakes and pools), slow-moving rivers, canals, and marshes, often with rich vegetation at their edges. It is not known if the species can adapt to changes in habitat. Breeding and larval development takes place in these waterbodies.

The species inhabits areas where human pressure is generally high (K. Sotiropoulos pers. comm. September 2019). The main threats to this species are the general loss of wetland habitat (through drainage for urbanisation, tourism, and agricultural intensification), and water pollution. Additionally, chemical pollution from agriculture intensification could be the cause of future declines of this species in Albania (Crnobrnja-Isailović et al. 2022). Dam construction and hydro-power developments are also considered to be major threats to this species (E. Mizsel pers. comm. September 2019).

A serious threat would be infection by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), which has been recently detected in Albania (Vojar et al. 2017), and in Greece, Bd has been detected in Epirus Water Frog, posing a significant threat to the species (Azmanis et al. 2016, Vojar et al. 2017, Strachinis et al. 2021). Climate change pose a future threat to the species due to the extensive droughts of suitable breeding sites. Another possible threat is genetic erosion through hybridisation with Pelophylax kurtmuelleri and Pelophylax ridibundus (Radojicic et al. 2015) since both species are largely sympatric. Climate change is a plausible future threat to this species.

It was previously reported in the 2008 assessment (Uzzell et al. 2009) and also in Haxhiu (2015) that the commercial collection of this species for food was a significant threat, and that it was harvested in enormous numbers in Albania. However there is no evidence that this species is collected excessively in Albania, and it is no longer considered to be a major threat (Europe Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). However, there are continued reports of the collection of members of this genus in Albania, and miss-reporting of trade based on misidentification with other members of this genus is possible. The species is collected in Greece (Hatziioannou et al. 2022) and lacks specific law protection in Albania and Greece (D. Jablonski pers. data). The species is threatened by the large-commercial collecting for food in Greece which has been the main reason for the population decline in parts of its range (E.-A. Toli, Greece national Red List assessment).

This species is utilised as food and is found in trade, however, this is not thought to be a major problem for this species and it is not a common practice (Europe Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019). However, Haxhiu (2015) mentioned that in Albania the exploitation of this species was so big that regulations and laws were needed to prohibit collection.

Conservation Actions In-Place
This species occurs in many protected areas within its range. This species is listed on Appendix III of the Bern Convention.

Conservation Needed
Improved management is required of the protected areas and Natura 2000 sites that this species occurs in (Europe Red List Assessment Workshop September 2019).

Research Needed
Further research is required on its ecology, impacts of threats, distribution.