The Red List of Threatened Species, created in 1964 by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, has become the world’s most comprehensive source of information on the global status of endangered species of animals, fungi and plants.
The IUCN Red List is an important indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. It is much more than a list of species and their status , it is a powerful tool to inform and stimulate action to conserve biodiversity and change policies that are critical to protecting the natural resources we need to survive. It provides information on range, population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or trade, threats and conservation actions to help make necessary conservation decisions.
The IUCN Red List is used by government agencies, wildlife departments, conservation nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), natural resource planners, educational organizations, students, and the business community. The Red List process has been a massive undertaking involving IUCN Global Conservation Program staff, partner organizations, and experts from the IUCN Species Survival Commission and partner networks that gather information on species to make the IUCN Red List the indispensable product it is today .
To date, many groups of species, including mammals, amphibians, birds, reef forming corals, and conifers, have been comprehensively evaluated. In addition to assessing newly recognized species, the IUCN Red List also reassesses the status of some existing species, sometimes with positive stories. For example, good news, such as the downgrading (i.e., improvement) of a number of species on the IUCN Red List category scale due to conservation efforts. The bad news, however, is that biodiversity is declining . More than 142,500 species are now on the IUCN Red List, of which more than 40,000 species are threatened, including 41% amphibians, 37% sharks and rays, 34% conifers, 33% reef-building corals, 26% mammals and 13% birds.
Despite the high percentage of endangered species, we are working to reverse, or at least halt, the decline in biodiversity. Expanding assessments will help turn the IUCN Red List into a more comprehensive “Barometer of Life. To do this, we need to increase the number of species assessed to at least 160,000. This will improve the global taxonomic coverage and thus provide a stronger basis for better conservation and policy decisions. The IUCN Red List is critical not only to help identify those species in need of targeted recovery efforts, but also to focus attention on the conservation program by identifying key locations and habitats that need to be protected. Ultimately, the IUCN Red List helps guide and inform future conservation priorities and funding.
