Guidelines for the Application of IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria Edited by L.M. Bland, D.A. Keith, N.J. Murray and J.P. Rodríguez Version 1.0 INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE Guidelines for the Application of IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria Edited by L.M. Bland, D.A. Keith, N.J. Murray and J.P. Rodríguez Version 1.0 The designation of geographical entities in this book, and the presentation of the material, do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of IUCN concerning the legal status of any country, territory, or area, or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect those of IUCN. Published by: IUCN, Gland, Switzerland Copyright: © 2015 IUCN, International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources The Guidelines for the application of IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria is an open access publication licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Reproduction of this publication for educational or other non-commercial uses is authorized without prior written permission from the copyright holder provided the source is fully acknowledged. Reproduction of this publication for resale or other commercial purposes is prohibited without prior written permission of the copyright holder. Citation: IUCN (2015). Guidelines for the application of IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria, Version 1.0. Bland, L.M., Keith, D.A., Murray, N.J., and Rodríguez, J.P. (eds.). Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. ix + 93 pp. This document will be subject to formatting and minor changes may occur. Cover photos: © R Ferrari Legorreta, © RM Miller, © NJ Murray All photographs used in this publication remain the property of the original copyright holder. Photographs should not be reproduced or used in other contexts without written permission from the copyright holder. Available from: IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Global Ecosystem Management Programme Commission on Ecosystem Management Rue Mauverney 28 1196 Gland Switzerland Tel +41 22 999 0000 Fax +41 22 999 0002 www.iucn.org/publications These guidelines are also freely available online on https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/45794 and the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems website (www.iucnredlistofecosystems.org). The guidelines are conceived as a ‘living document’ and will be updated periodically. Please submit your comments and suggestions to www.iucnredlistofecosystems.org/contact-us. Numerous experts from around the world participated in the development of these guidelines. The complete list of contributors is located in Appendix 1. Table of Contents Executive Summary .............................................................................................................. v Acknowledgements ...........................................................................................................vi Acronyms ............................................................................................................................ viii Glossary................................................................................................................................ix 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objectives of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems .......................................................... 1 1.2 Development of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems ...................................................... 2 1.3 Governance of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems ....................................................... 3 1.3.1 The Steering Committee ....................................................................................... 3 1.3.2 The Committee for Scientific Standards ................................................................ 4 1.4 Structure of the Guidelines .......................................................................................... 5 2. Categories of the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems ............................................................... 6 3. Scientific foundations ........................................................................................................ 8 3.1 Ecosystem types: the units of assessment .................................................................. 8 3.1.1 Ecosystem typologies ........................................................................................... 8 3.1.2 The influence of scale ........................................................................................... 9 3.2 Ecosystem collapse ................................................................................................... 12 3.2.1 Defining ecosystem collapse ............................................................................... 12 3.2.2 Uncertainties in the endpoints for risk assessment .............................................. 15 3.3 Risk assessment protocol .......................................................................................... 18 3.3.1 Time frames ........................................................................................................ 19 3.3.2 Decline thresholds ............................................................................................... 20 3.3.3 Standards of evidence and dealing with uncertainty ............................................ 21 4. Assessment process ....................................................................................................... 24 4.1 Area of assessment ................................................................................................... 25 4.2 Describing the unit of assessment ............................................................................. 26 4.2.1 Classification ....................................................................................................... 27 4.2.2 Spatial distribution ............................................................................................... 28 4.2.3 Characteristic native biota ................................................................................... 28 4.2.4 Abiotic environment ............................................................................................. 30 4.2.5 Processes and interactions ................................................................................. 31 4.2.6 Threats ................................................................................................................ 35 4.2.7 Describing collapsed states ................................................................................. 38 4.3 Evaluating the criteria ................................................................................................ 38 4.4 Assessment outcome ................................................................................................ 39 4.4.1 Dealing with uncertainty ...................................................................................... 41 4.5 Documentation .......................................................................................................... 41 5. Criteria and thresholds .................................................................................................... 42 5.1 Criterion A. Reduction in geographic distribution ....................................................... 42 5.1.1 Theory ................................................................................................................. 42 5.1.2 Thresholds and subcriteria .................................................................................. 42 iii | IUCN Red List of Ecosystems 5.1.3 Application .......................................................................................................... 43 5.2 Criterion B. Restricted geographic distribution ........................................................... 49 5.2.1 Theory ................................................................................................................. 49 5.2.2 Thresholds and subcriteria .................................................................................. 49 5.2.3 Application .......................................................................................................... 50 5.3 Criterion C. Environmental degradation ..................................................................... 55 5.3.1 Theory ................................................................................................................. 55 5.3.2 Thresholds and subcriteria .................................................................................. 55 5.3.3 Application .......................................................................................................... 55 5.4 Criterion D. Disruption of biotic processes and interactions ....................................... 63 5.4.1 Theory ................................................................................................................. 63 5.4.2 Thresholds and subcriteria .................................................................................. 63 5.4.3 Application .......................................................................................................... 64 5.5 Criterion E. Quantitative risk analysis ........................................................................ 69 5.5.1