IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) E-Bulletin June 2005

This monthly Bulletin, as a supplement to SPECIES, SSC’s published newsletter, is to keep staff, members and the wider IUCN network up-to-date with news and announcements from the Commission. This issue and all previous issues are available on the SSC website: www.iucn.org/themes/ssc/

Previous issues: visit the archives

In this issue:

News

MORE BIRDS SLIPPING TOWARDS EXTINCTION

IUCN TIGER SPECIALIST PETER JACKSON EARNS HIS STRIPES

Reports

SSC SPECIALISTS IDENTIFY GLOBAL PRIORITIES FOR REDUCING CETACEAN BYCATCH

SSC conservation workshops and events

ARABIAN PLANT CONSERVATION

Announcements

NEW, IMPROVED CAT SPECIALIST GROUP WEBSITE

News

MORE BIRDS SLIPPING TOWARDS EXTINCTION

The annual review of the state of the world’s birds by BirdLife International, one of IUCN’s Red List Consortium partners, shows that the total number considered to be threatened with extinction is now 1,212. If this is combined with the number of Near Threatened species, it gives a total of exactly 2,000 species in trouble – more than a fifth of the planet’s remaining 9,775 bird species. Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, 179 species will now be classified as Critically Endangered, the highest level of threat. These include the Azores Bullfinch (Pyrrhula murina), one of Europe 's rarest songbirds, which has been in decline since the early 1990s, with fewer than 300 individuals left. The new bird data will be processed and included in the 2005 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. See the BirdLife International press release: www.birdlife.net/news/pr/2005/06/red_list_update.html

IUCN TIGER SPECIALIST PETER JACKSON EARNS HIS STRIPES

Researchers plan to name the recently-identified Malayan tiger, a new subspecies, Panthera tigris jacksoni to honour the career of tiger conservationist Peter Jackson, former Chair and still active member of SSC’s Cat Specialist Group. As with many threatened species, tigers have been divided into subspecies - natural geographically separate populations - for conservation as well as recognition purposes. The discovery of this new subspecies therefore has major conservation implications and is highlighted in the most recent edition of CAT NEWS, the SSC Cat Specialist Group newsletter. Full story

Reports

SSC SPECIALISTS IDENTIFY GLOBAL PRIORITIES FOR REDUCING CETACEAN BYCATCH

Eleven of the world’s leading marine scientists, all members of SSC’s Cetacean Specialist Group, have for the first time assessed dolphin and porpoise populations around the world which are severely threatened by entanglement in fishing gear. They have recommended nine urgent priorities for action in a report commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). These nine projects highlight species threatened by bycatch that are the most likely to benefit from immediate action but are languishing without intervention. The list of dolphins and porpoises that could recover if changes to fishing methods and other conservation efforts are made includes harbor porpoises in the Black Sea , where thousands of porpoises are killed each year; Atlantic humpback dolphins off the coast of west Africa ; and franciscana dolphins in South America . Most of the species on the list are threatened by the widespread use of one type of fishing gear – gillnets. Full report: app.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/SSC/SSCwebsite/News/Top_Nine_report_EN.pdf

Workshops and events

ARABIAN PLANT CONSERVATION

A great range of activity was reported at the fourth meeting of SSC’s Arabian Plants Specialist Group (APSG), held 4-5 May, at the Environmental Research and Wildlife Development Agency in Abu Dhabi , UAE. The first volume of the Flora of the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra, produced in collaboration with the Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh, has been completed, and the Gardens have appointed a staff member to work on producing the remainder of the Flora. Ongoing Group activities include development of a provisional Red List of Threatened Plants of the Arabian Peninsula (by the end of this year), production of an Arabian Plants Red Data Book, and establishment of a working group on traditional knowledge to document and disseminate traditional knowledge on Arabian plants. The Group is also working on a project to identify Important Plant Areas in the region as well as developing a Regional Strategy for Plant Conservation. The APSG’s new website was unveiled during the gathering. http://www.iucnarabianpsg.org/

Announcements

NEW CAT SPECIALIST GROUP WEBSITE

The SSC Cat Specialist Group has launched its new website: www.catsg.org whichintegrates the species information from the old site designed by Nancy Sipos in the 1990s, and integrates features such as the Digital Cat Library. It brings plenty of new and updated information and services including a new feature “Project of the Month” to promote the work of group members.

If you would like more information on any of the items included in this issue or wish to submit an item to future issues, please contact Anna Knee (alk@iucn.org) or Andrew McMullin (mcmullina@iucn.org); tel: +41 (0)22 999 0153.