- IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), created in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of plant and animal
species . TheInternational Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species.Nature 389, 436 (2 October 1997) [http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v389/n6650/abs/389436a0.html] ]The IUCN Red List is set upon precise criteria to evaluate the
extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. The aim is to convey the urgency of conservation issues to the public and policy makers, as well as help the international community to try to reduce species extinction.Major species assessors include
BirdLife International , theInstitute of Zoology (the research division of theZoological Society of London ), theWorld Conservation Monitoring Centre , and many Specialist Groups within the IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC). Collectively, assessments by these organizations and groups account for nearly half the species on the Red List.IUCN Red List is widely considered to be the most objective and authoritative system for classifying species in terms of the risk of extinction. [cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/global_species_programme/red_list.html |title=Birds on the IUCN Red List |accessdate=2007-02-01 |work=BirdLife International ]
The IUCN aims to have the category of every species re-evaluated every 5 years if possible, or at least every ten years. This is done in a
peer review ed manner through IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) Specialist Groups, which are Red List Authorities responsible for a species, group of species or specific geographic area, or in the case ofBirdLife International , an entire class (Aves). [cite web |url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/programme |title=Establishment of Red List Authorities |accessdate=2006-11-12 |work=The IUCN SSC Red List Programme ]2006 release
The
2006 Red List, released on4 May ,2006 evaluated 40,168 species as a whole, plus an additional 2,160 subspecies, varieties, aquatic stocks, andsubpopulation s.From the species evaluated as a whole, 16,118 were considered threatened. Of these, 7,725 were
animal s, 8,390 wereplant s, and three werelichen andmushroom s.This release listed 784 species extinctions recorded since
1500 CE, unchanged from the2004 release. This was an increase of 18 from the 766 listed as of2000 Fact|date=February 2008. Each year a small number of "extinct" species may be rediscovered, becomingLazarus species , or may be reclassified as "data deficient". In2002 , the extinction list dropped to 759 species, but has been rising ever since. [cite web|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/misc/wikipedia|title=Data figures for Wikipedia citations|accessdate=2008-02-28|work=IUCN Red List website]2007 release
On
September 12 , 2007, theWorld Conservation Union (IUCN) released the2007 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the latest update to theironline database ofspecies 'extinction risks. In this release, they have raised theirclassification of both theWestern Lowland Gorilla ("Gorilla gorilla gorilla") and theCross River Gorilla ("Gorilla gorilla diehli") fromEndangered toCritically Endangered , which is the lastcategory beforeExtinct in the Wild , due toEbola virus andpoaching , along with other factors. Russ Mittermeier, chief ofSwiss -based IUCN's Primate Specialist Group, stated that 16,306 species are endangered with extinction, 188 more than in 2006 (total of 41,415 species on the Red List). [ [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070912/ap_on_re_eu/endangered_gorillas Yahoo.com, Gorillas now 'critically endangered'] ] The Red List includes theSumatran Orangutan ("Pongo abelii") in the Critically Endangered category and theBornean Orangutan ("Pongo pygmaeus") in the Endangered category. [ [http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2007/09/12_pr_redlist.htm IUCN.org news release, Extinction crisis escalates: Red List shows apes, corals, vultures, dolphins all in danger] ]2008 release
The
2008 Red List was released on6 October ,2008 , at the IUCN World Conservation Congress inBarcelona , and "has confirmed an extinction crisis, with almost one in four at risk of disappearing forever" [ [http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/red_list/index.cfm IUCN Red List reveals world’s mammals in crisis] ] . The study shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction, and 836 are listed asData Deficient [ [http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/red_list/index.cfm?uNewsID=1695 IUCN Red List reveals world’s mammals in crisis] ] .Categories
Species are classified in nine groups, set through criteria such as rate of decline, population size, area of geographic distribution, and degree of population and distribution fragmentation.
*Extinct (EX)
*Extinct in the Wild (EW)
*Critically Endangered (CR)
*Endangered (EN)
*Vulnerable (VU)
*Near Threatened (NT)
*Least Concern (LC)
*Data Deficient (DD)
*Not Evaluated (NE)When discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term "threatened" is a grouping of three categories: Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable.
1994 categories and criteria
has only a single "Lower Risk" category which contained three subcategories:
*
Conservation Dependent (LR/cd)
*Near Threatened (LR/nt)
*Least Concern (LR/lc)In the 2001 system, Near Threatened and Least Concern have now become their own categories, while Conservation Dependent is no longer used and has been merged into Near Threatened.
Possibly Extinct
The additional category of "Possibly Extinct" (PE) [cite web|url=http://www.birdlife.org/news/news/2006/06/possibly_extinct_paper.pdf|title=Going or gone: defining 'Possibly Extinct' species to give a truer picture of recent extinctions|author=S. H. M. Butchart, et al|format=pdf|work=Bull. B.O.C. 2006 126A] is used by
Birdlife International , the Red List Authority for birds for the IUCN Red List [cite web |url=http://www.birdlife.org/action/science/species/global_species_programme/red_list.html |title=Birds on the IUCN Red List |accessdate=2007-01-26 |work=BirdLife International] . Birdlife International has recommended PE become an official category. BirdLife International has not stated whether a "Possibly Extinct in the Wild" category should also be added, although it is mentioned thatSpix's Macaw has this status. "Possibly Extinct" can be considered a subcategory of "Critically Endangered".Criticism
The IUCN Red List has come under criticism on the grounds of
secrecy (or at least poor documentation) surrounding the sources of data. [cite journal | author = N. Mrosovsky | title = IUCN's credibility critically endangered | journal = Nature | volume = 389 | pages = 436 | year = 1997 | url = http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v389/n6650/abs/389436a0.html | doi = 10.1038/38873] The allegations have led to efforts by the IUCN to improve its documentation and data quality, and to include peer reviews of taxa on the Red List. The list is also open to petitions against its classifications, on the basis of documentation or criteria. [cite web|url=http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/info_sources_quality|title=Information sources and quality|accessdate=2008-09-19|work=IUCN Red List website]It has been suggested that the IUCN Red List and similar works are prone to misuse by governments and other groups, to draw possibly inappropriate conclusions on the state of the environment or to affect exploitation of natural resources. [cite journal | author = Hugh P. Possingham et al | title = Limits to the use of threatened species lists | journal = Trends in Ecology & Evolution | volume = 17 |issue=11 | pages = 503-507|month=November| year = 2002 | doi = 10.1016/S0169-5347(02)02614-9 ]
ee also
*
Conservation status
*Red List Index
*Regional Red List
*List of endangered species
*Wildlife conservation
*EDGE of Existence Programme
*EDGE Species
*List of critically endangered speciesReferences
*IUCN, 2006. Summary Statistics for Globally Threatened Species ( [http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/tables/table1 1] , [http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/tables/table3a 3a] , [http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/tables/table3b 3b] ). Retrieved
5 May ,2006 .
*IUCN, 1994. [http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/categories_criteria1994 Categories & Criteria (version 2.3)] . RetrievedFebruary 12 ,2005 .
*IUCN, 2001. [http://www.iucnredlist.org/info/categories_criteria2001 Categories & Criteria (version 3.1)] . RetrievedFebruary 12 ,2005 .
*Rodrigues, A.S.L., Pilgrim, J.D., Lamoreux, J.F., Hoffmann, M. & Brooks, T.M. 2006. [http://conserveonline.org/workspaces/commons/PDF%20Background%20Documents/Value%20of%20the%20IUCN%20Red%20List%20for%20Conservation.pdf The value of the IUCN Red List for conservation] Trends in Ecology & Evolution 21(2): 71-76.External links
* [http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/species/red_list/index.cfm IUCN Red List of Threatened Species home]
* [http://www.iucnredlist.org/ Search the Red List]
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