Red For Danger

Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2013, Kathryn Pintus, IUCN , "The Youth Guide to Biodiversity" 1st Edition (Chapter 4) Youth and United Nations Global Alliance. Reproduced with permission.

Chapter 4. Verbatim.

Species already driven to extinction include the famous dodo, as well as the lesser-known hula painted frog, woolly-stalked begonia and pig-footed bandicoot. Unfortunately, there are thousands of species set to follow in their footsteps, all of which are in danger of being wiped out completely as a result of habitat destruction, pollution, overexploitation, climate change, invasive alien species or any combination of these.

With so many species in need of conservation action, and with limited resources to help them, how do we know which are most at risk and most in need of our help? This is where the IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM (also called the IUCN Red List) comes in. 

The IUCN Red List is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species; it currently holds information about more than 48 000 different species, covering species taxonomy, geographic ranges, population numbers and threats. These data are collected by thousands ofexperts worldwide, and are an extremely useful tool in influencing conservation decisions, in informing species-based conservation actions, and in monitoring species’ progress.

This figure shows the proportion of species in different threat categories, which reflect the likelihood that a species may become extinct if current conditions persist. THE RISK STATUS IS BASED ON THE RESEARCH OF THOUS ANDS OF SPECIES done by SCIENTISTS FROM AROUND THE WORLD. AS OF 2009, 47 677 SPECIES HAD BEEN ASSESSED. Of these, 36 percent are considered threatened with extinction.

Source: IUCN data in Global Biodiversity Outlook 3, 2010

Just as most hospitals have a triage system in place, whereby the ill and injured are assigned a category depending on how bad their condition is and therefore how quickly they need to be seen by a doctor, the IUCN Red List assigns species to special categories depending on how threatened they are.

There are eight categories for assessed species on the IUCN Red List, which can be seen on the scale accompanying the green turtle on the next page. A species is assigned a Red List category once its data have been assessed against very strict and carefully formulated criteria. These are based on factors such as geographic range, population size and rates of decline. Species that have been classified as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered are referred to collectively as “threatened species”.

By having this classification system and all the accompanying data, the IUCN Red List can help to answer several important questions, including: 

•• At what rate is biodiversity being lost? 

•• Where is biodiversity the highest? 

•• Where is it being lost most rapidly? 

•• What are the main reasons for these losses? 

•• How successful are conservation actions?

With these answers, conservationists and decision-makers are able to make more informed choices when developing and implementing conservation actions, therefore increasing their chances of success. With this success comes the preservation of biodiversity, which is so vital for our planet and all who live on it.