News Release
The 2002 IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species
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The Red List Consortium
IUCN-THE
WORLD CONSERVATION UNION AND ITS SPECIES
SURVIVAL COMMISSION
Founded
in 1948, IUCN brings together 73 states, 107 government agencies, 755
NGOs, 35 affiliates, and some 10,000 scientists and experts from 181
countries in a unique worldwide partnership. Its mission is to influence,
encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the
integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural
resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable. Through its Specialist
Groups, SSC assesses the conservation status of species, identifies,
and prioritizes action to reduce threats to biodiversity, conducts research
and on-ground conservation action, contributes to global conservation
policy, and provides advice to decision-makers and international conventions.
The Red List of Threatened Species is one of IUCN's flagship products.
THE
CENTER FOR APPLIED BIODIVERSITY SCIENCE AT CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL
(CI-CABS)
The
Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International
has established a new Biodiversity Assessment Unit, which merges SSC's
ability to collect biodiversity with its own analytical strengths. As
part of a worldwide biodiversity assessment to be produced every four
to five years, the unit will pioneer the use of the Red List in assessing
trends in the status of species between geographical regions, biomes
and taxonomic groups. It will also help expand the taxonomic base of
the Red List with new SSC networks responsible for assessing the species
within their remits, making the Red List much more representative of
the whole of global biodiversity. The creation of the SSC/CABS partnership
is an exciting move in global conservation. By maximizing Red List coverage
and completing the Species Information Service to give users around
the world access to the most up-to-date information, it will revolutionize
the way in which biodiversity assessments are carried out.
BIRDLIFE
INTERNATIONAL
BirdLife International is the Listing Authority for birds on the IUCN
Red List and through its partnership of NGOs and Secretariat, works
closely with the IUCN/SSC Specialist Groups and a worldwide network
of thousands of experts and other organizations in this capacity. For
over 20 years, BirdLife has published information on globally threatened
bird species in regional Red Data Books (Africa in 1985, Americas in
1992, Asia in 2001) and global Red Lists (1988, 1994 and 2000), such
that birds are recognized as the best documented group of all species.
BirdLife can therefore play an important role in pioneering and testing
new ideas relating to the development and application of the IUCN Red
List Programme as an indicator of biodiversity trends. BirdLife makes
its information on globally threatened birds available on the World
Wide Web, supported by a dynamic database - the World Bird Database.
This wealth of information lays the foundation for BirdLife's work and
guides its priorities for action, notably through the development and
implementation of Species Action Plans, and the identification and management
of Important Bird Areas.
NATURESERVE
NatureServe,
a non-profit conservation organization, plays an active role in the
Red List consortium. NatureServe is a leader in providing the scientific
basis for effective conservation, and serves as the secretariat for
the network of natural heritage programmes and conservation data centres.
This network now includes 76 independent biodiversity inventory programmes
operating throughout the United States, Canada, Latin America, and the
Caribbean. For nearly 30 years NatureServe and its member programmes
have been assessing the condition and distribution of species and ecosystems,
and maintain comprehensive databases on North American vertebrates,
vascular plants, and selected invertebrate groups. They also have significant
data holdings for selected regions and species in Latin America. NatureServe
is coordinating the Red List's amphibian assessments in the western
hemisphere under the Global Amphibian Assessment, and will be actively
involved in assessment efforts for other animal and plant groups in
that region.
THE
OCEAN CONSERVANCY
Through its long-standing partnership with IUCN and the Species Survival
Commission (SSC), The Ocean Conservancy is leading efforts to expand
Red List coverage of marine species. Its aim is two-fold: to ensure
that we are accurately assessing global trends in extinction risk for
marine species, and to shed light on the factors responsible for these
trends and their implications for conservation. As the focal point for
the SSC marine network, The Ocean Conservancy works with SSC Specialist
Groups and others to expand the Red List assessment process to other
marine species, including coral reef fishes. The Ocean Conservancy has
hosted a workshop to outline priorities and develop a work programme
for the marine activities of the SSC, based on the SSC strategic plan.
This programme will be the basis for expanding the SSC marine network
and securing additional financial support.
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Release of the updated IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
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Examples of species changing status
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Background to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
