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Home , Biodiversity, Conservation status, Critically Endangered, Endangered species, Extinction, Habitat destruction

Species – The Facts

FACTS A NATURAL - AND UNNATURAL – PROCESS

• 16,928 and The world is, and always has been, in a state of flux. Over hundreds of millions of are known to be years, continents have broken apart, appeared, formed and threatened with extinction. worn away. With geological change come changes in living things: species, This may be a gross , and whole lineages disappear, and new ones emerge. underestimate because less than 3% of the world’s 1.9 Extinction is therefore a natural process. According to the record, no species million described species has yet proved immortal; as few as 2-4% of the species that have ever lived are have been assessed for the believed to survive today. The remainder are extinct, the vast majority having IUCN Red List of disappeared long before the arrival of . .

But the rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be • Only 1.9 million species between 1000 and 10,000 higher than the “background” or expected natural have been described out of extinction rate (a highly conservative estimate). Unlike the mass extinction events an estimated 13-14 million of geological history, the current extinction phenomenon is one for which a single species that exist. species - ours - appears to be almost wholly responsible. This is often referred to

as “the sixth extinction crisis”, after the five known extinction waves in geological • In the last 500 years, history. activity is known to have forced 869 species to The number of species known to be threatened with extinction has topped 16,928. extinction (or extinction in Their ranks include familiar species like the Polar , , sharks, the wild). freshwater and Mediterranean . Marine species are proving to be just as

much at as their -based counterparts. • One in four and

one in eight face a WHY DOES EXTINCTION ? high risk of extinction in the

near future. - the variety of species and their - plays an important role in and in the many services provide. These include • One in three and cycling, formation and retention, resistance against invasive and almost half of all species, plant , regulation, and and control. and freshwater Escalating has widespread implications for both human and are threatened. environmental . • The current species extinction rate is estimated The monetary value of goods and services provided by ecosystems is estimated to to be between 1,000 and amount to some 33 trillion dollars per year – nearly twice the global production resulting from human activities. An estimated 50,000-70,000 plant species are used 10,000 times higher than the natural or ‘background’ in traditional and modern medicine worldwide. About 100 million metric tons of rate. aquatic , including fish, molluscs and crustaceans are taken from the wild every year and represent a vital contribution to world security. Meat from wild • The total number of known forms a critical contribution to food sources and livelihoods in many threatened animal species countries with high levels of poverty and food insecurity. A huge range of species has increased from 5,205 to are involved including monkeys, , antelopes, , pheasants, turtles and 8,462 since 1996. .

THE IUCN RED LIST OF THREATENED SPECIES™

MORE FACTS WHAT ARE THE THREATS?

• loss and Major threats to biodiversity are: degradation affect 89% of all threatened • and degradation birds, 83% of • Over-exploitation (extraction, , etc.) mammals, and 91% • Pollution of threatened . • Disease

• Invasions of alien species (e.g. and on ) • All 22 species of • Global (changes in migratory species, bleaching) are under threat as a result of Threats vary both within and between species groups. Although habitat destruction is long-line fishing. universally the most dominant threat, over-exploitation (harvesting, trade etc.) is a major

threat to mammals, affecting 33% of threatened species. For birds, over-exploitation and • A total of 8,457 invasive alien species both affect about 30% of threatened species. Of the amphibians, threatened plants are 29% of species are affected by pollution (including climate change) and 17% by disease listed. This is around (particularly chytridiomycosis). The interaction between disease and extreme climatic 2% of the world’s events () is the leading theory behind widespread declines. described plants. As only approximately Threats in marine and freshwater systems are poorly understood but it appears that over- 4% of the world’s exploitation is presently the greatest threat to marine species, followed by habitat loss. described plants have Incidental in affects , marine mammals, and others. Habitat loss is been evaluated, the likely to be the most severe threat to freshwater species followed by pollution and invasive true percentage of species. threatened plant species is much Threats to species change over . Invasive alien species were historically the greatest higher. threat to birds, followed by over-exploitation and habitat loss. Today, habitat loss has emerged as the dominant threat to birds, followed by and over- • , , exploitation. This order may change again if predictions of global warming are correct. and are among the countries Invasion by alien species, second only to habitat loss as a threat to biodiversity, severely with the most disrupts freshwater and marine ecosystems, tropical , urban areas, islands, threatened mammals and . Green Crabs, Mussels, the African and the and birds. Brown Tree are among the ecological offenders that also affect global and local

economies. Introductions of alien species can happen deliberately or unintentionally, for • The frequently asked example, by organisms “hitchhiking” in containers, , or soil. question of “how many species have There are many examples of the effects of climate change on species from around the gone extinct in the world, which taken together, provide compelling evidence that climate change will be last 100 years” is catastrophic for many species. difficult to answer because of problems WHERE ARE THE THREATENED SPECIES? in recording contemporary Most threatened species occur in the , especially on mountains and on islands. Most threatened birds, mammals, and amphibians are located in Central and South extinction events. Decline and eventual America; south of the Sahara; and tropical South and . These extinction may take realms contain the tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests that are believed to place over many harbour the majority of the ’s living terrestrial and freshwater species. Therefore, the years, or even patterns shown for mammals, birds and amphibians are likely to represent most terrestrial centuries in the case taxonomic groups.

of very long-lived organisms like some are becoming increasingly common on continents. While the vast majority of of the large extinctions since 1500 AD have occurred on oceanic islands, continental extinctions are and tree species. now as common as extinctions. Roughly 50% of extinctions over the past 20 years occurred on continents. People and threatened species are often concentrated in the same areas. This is especially true in much of Asia, in particular southeast China, the of India, the Himalayas, , Java (Indonesia), the and parts of , and in parts of Africa (especially the Albertine Rift in Central Africa and the Ethiopian Highlands).

The number of threatened species is likely to rapidly increase in where human growth rates are high. Future conflicts between the needs of threatened species and rapidly increasing human populations are predicted to occur in Cameroon, , , India, , , , Philippines, , and .

THE IUCN RED LIST CAN EXTINCTION BE STOPPED? OF THREATENED SPECIES™ Species can be, and many already have been, saved from extinction (see ‘SUCCESS STORIES’ below). Globally threatened species frequently require a combination of The IUCN Red List is conservation responses to save them. These responses encompass research, species- the most authoritative specific actions, site and habitat based interventions, policy responses and communication and education. It is much more effective and economical to protect habitat and comprehensive status assessment of in the first place than to try to restore it after it has been destroyed or to reintroduce a and species. guides conservation The tools in the conservation arsenal are many and varied. They include: efforts at all levels around the world. • Effective management and restoration of habitats and ecosystems (including establishment of protected areas and networks) The IUCN Red List • Limiting the use of , herbicides and other chemical pollutants Categories and Criteria • Enforcement of key agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, are an objective system Convention on Migratory Species, Convention on International Trade in Endangered for classifying species Species of Wild and according to their risk of • Creating incentives and finance for conservation global extinction. There are nine categories: • Equitable sharing of costs and benefits of conservation Extinct, Extinct in the • Assessment of biodiversity and the social and economic factors affecting it Wild, Critically • and reintroduction, including seed banks Endangered, • Conservation information management and communication Endangered, • Training and technical capacity-building. Vulnerable, Near Ongoing monitoring of conservation action is needed to gauge how effective it has been, Threatened, Least Concern, Data and how it can be best targeted. Information on the needs of species must also be Deficient, and Not continually updated. Evaluated. Widely recognized as the most authoritative assessment of the global status of plants and

animals, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides an accurate measure of A species is classified progress, or lack of it, in achieving the globally agreed target to significantly reduce the as Threatened if it falls current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. into the categories , The Red List is a versatile conservation tool. It can provide information on the Endangered, or of individual species; guide the listing of individual species in national Vulnerable. An or international legislation; aid in conservation planning, priority-setting and recovery explanation of the planning; and support educational programmes. categories is available at this website: SUCCESS STORIES http://www.iucnredlist. Several species have moved down the threat categories or been removed from the Red org/static/categories_ List altogether. Examples include the Chinese Crested , , Hawaiian criteria , White Rhino, and Short-tailed Albatross.

Too big to be published Following large recoveries in many European countries, the numbers of White-tailed as a book, the IUCN (Haliaeetus albicilla) doubled in the 1990s and the species has been downlisted Red List is available from Near Threatened to Least Concern. Enforcement of legislation to protect the species, online at: and measures to address threats from habitat changes and pollution contributed to the recovery. www.iucnredlist.org The 300 kg (Pangasianodon gigas) of South- is one of the largest in the world and was listed as Critically Endangered in 2003. Adopted as one of four by the Mekong Biodiversity and Sustainable Use Programme, it is the focus of regional co-operation on issues and conservation activities.

Swift action since the dramatic 97% population crash of the (Gyps indicus), listed as Critically Endangered in 2002, means that the future for this and related species is more secure. The veterinary drug that unintentionally poisoned them is now banned in India. A promising substitute has been found and captive breeding assurance colonies will be used for a re-introduction programme.

CONTACTS IUCN’S RESPONSE TO THE EXTINCTION CRISIS

At IUCN Headquarters: Working closely together, the IUCN Species Programme and the Species Survival Commssion (SSC) - a global network of 7,500 experts - provide the tools and knowledge Species Programme needed for conservation action, through Action Plans, policy guidelines and checklists, The International Union among others. for Conservation of (IUCN) IUCN helps to identify global conservation priorities by producing assessments like the 1196 Gland, IUCN Red List of Threatened Species which serves as a gauge of biodiversity loss and Switzerland helps target conservation action. Tel: ++41 22 999 0000 Fax: ++41 22 999 0015 The Species Information Service is being developed to provide access to high-quality, up- E-mail: to-date species information for users across the world. [email protected] IUCN is part of the Global Invasive Species Programme (GISP) which brings several In the UK: IUCN programmes and partners together to counter the invasive species problem. This Craig Hilton-Taylor initiative recognizes that working cooperatively is the only way to respond to this IUCN Red List Manager multifaceted problem. +44 1223 277966 The IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group (www.issg.org) maintains a global database TO LEARN MORE of invasive species and has produced a booklet “100 of the World’s Worst Invasive Species” as an awareness-raising tool. IUCN advises the government Parties to The IUCN Red List of international treaties, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention Threatened Species™: on Migratory Species to help ensure that decisions are informed by the best available

information about biodiversity. It provides scientifically based analyses of proposals to www.iucnredlist.org change the way plant and animal species are regulated within the terms of the Convention Species Survival on International Trade in (CITES). Commission and Species Programme: IUCN promotes conservation action through partnerships with conservation organizations, government agencies and others. Thanks to the IUCN/SSC Action Plans and other www.iucn.org/species conservation measures they have inspired, there have been many notable success stories. SSC Specialist Groups: GLOSSARY http://www.iucn.org/ about/work/programme Biological diversity - “biodiversity” means the diversity of on Earth, including terrestrial, s/species/about_ssc/ marine and other aquatic ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are specialist_groups part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.

Biome: major ecological , a division of the world’s vegetation that corresponds to a particular climate and is characterized by certain types of plants and animals, for example, tropical or .

Ecosystem: a dynamic complex of plant, animal and micro- communities and their non-living environment interacting as a functional unit.

Endemic: restricted to a particular area: used to describe a species or organism that is confined to a particular geographical , for example, an island or basin.

Genus, Genera pl.: set of closely related species: a category in the taxonomic classification of related organisms, comprising one or more species. Similar genera grouped in families.

Habitat: the place or type of site where an organism or population naturally occurs.

Invasive alien species: are those that occur outside their natural range and threaten the existence of native plants and animals.

Taxon: category of organisms, any of the groups to which organisms are assigned according to the principles of , including species, , , order, class, and .