The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Guiding conservation for 50 years Jean-Christophe Vié, Deputy Director Global Species Programme, IUCN The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ The IUCN Red List History • The early beginnings for The IUCN Red List started in the 1950s with a card index system documenting data on threatened mammals and birds. • In the early 1960s the card index was transformed into a two-volume set of data sheets. • In 1964 the first most comprehensive lists of threatened mammals and birds were published followed by more detailed accounts in 1965 – enabling public access to the data for the first time. • As resources grew, the outputs increased and in 1988 all birds were assessed for the first time. • Further groups have been completed over the years e.g. 1996 all mammals; 1998 all conifers; 2004 all amphibians; 2013 all cacti 2 Importance of Regional Red Lists IUCN RED LIST CATEGORIES AND CRITERIA The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The world’s most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species Gharial 4 Kevin Schafer What is the IUCN Red List? • The assessment is an estimate of extinction risk • More than just names and threat categories • Based on the best scientific information available • Species assessments are generated through the knowledge of thousands of the world’s leading scientists through a peer review process. Illustration copyright Bob Diven The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ Who is involved? • IUCN Species Survival Commission: 10,000 species scientists • IUCN Global Species Programme • IUCN Red List Partnership 6 The IUCN Red List is the starting point for conservation action 7 IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria Categories Criteria Thresholds 8 76,199 species assessed; more than 22,000 threatened with extinction 4% of 8 -15 million species 9 Applications of the IUCN Red List • Inform policy decisions on biodiversity conservation and the protection of the natural resources • Support priority setting for conservation actions and research • Measure progress towards achieving policy targets (EU 2020 Biodiversity Strategy, the Strategic Plan of the CBD…) 10 Applications of the Red List • The IUCN Red List index provides trends over time for different group of species © Martin Mecnarowski 11 Applications of the Red List • Red List Index for Ungulates, 1996-2008 • Without conservation action 148 ungulate species would have deteriorated by one Red List category • 8 x worse! Hoffmann et al. 2015. Conservation Biology 12 Applications of the Red List • Guides the allocation of financial resources for conservation (e.g. Life funds) • Guides scientific research • Assists in regional conservation planning (e.g. identification of Key Biodiversity Areas, protected areas) • Raising awareness 13 Celebrating 50 Years of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Status of Europe’s species: Overview of the European Red List findings Ana Nieto, European Biodiversity Conservation Officer, IUCN Christina Ieronymidou, European Species Programme Officer, BirdLife Europe The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ THE EUROPEAN RED LIST The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ 15 European Red List • A review of the conservation status of species in Europe, identifying species threatened with extinction at European level • Financed by the EC (DG ENV) • Started in 2006 (mammals) 16 European Red List • To date 9,735 species have been assessed: – All mammals, amphibians, reptiles, butterflies, dragonflies, freshwater molluscs, freshwater and marine fishes, bees, birds and medicinal plants – A selection of saproxylic beetles, terrestrial molluscs, vascular plants • Further species being assessed: – All Orthoptera species (grasshoppers) – All Pteridophytes (ferns) – All Bryophytes (mosses) – Remaining terrestrial molluscs – A selection of saproxylic beetles – A selection of plants (trees and shrubs) 17 How many European species are threatened? • At least 1,677 (around 22.5%!) species are threatened with extinction - freshwater animals particularly affected • 36 species are extinct in Europe (seven of those still exist elsewhere) 18 19 THE EUROPEAN RED LIST OF BEES The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ 20 European Red List of Bees • Assessment of all European bees (1965 species) • 3 year project (2011-2014) • Collaboration with STEP project (FP7) • Compiled by more than 45 European bee experts 21 IUCN Red List status of bees in Europe •9.2% of wild bees threatened (CR, EN, VU) •25.8% of bumblebees threatened 22 Distribution of known threatened European bees 23 Population trends of European bees 24 Major threats to bees in Europe 25 THE EUROPEAN RED LIST OF MEDICINAL PLANTS The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ 26 European Red List of Medicinal plants • Assessment of all European medicinal plants (400 species) • 3 year project (2011-2014) • Compiled by more than 150 experts 27 IUCN Red List status of medicinal plants in Europe •2.4% of medicinal plants threatened (CR, EN, VU) 28 Distribution of known threatened European medicinal plants 29 Population trends of European medicinal plants 30 Major threats to medicinal plants in Europe 31 THE EUROPEAN RED LIST OF MARINE FISHES The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ 32 European Red List of Marine Fishes • Assessment of all European marine fishes (1,220 species) • 3 year project (2011-2015) • Compiled by more than 110 experts 33 IUCN Red List status of marine fishes in Europe •7.5% of marine fishes threatened (CR, EN, VU) •40.4% of sharks and rays threatened 34 Distribution of known threatened European marine fishes 35 Population trends of European marine fishes 36 Major threats to marine fishes in Europe 37 THE EUROPEAN RED LIST OF BIRDS European Red List of Birds • Funded by the European Commission • Broad project consortium led by BirdLife International • Assessment of all European birds (533 species) using latest IUCN guidelines for Europe and EU27 • For the first time, EU assessments almost fully based on official reporting by Member States under the Birds Directive IUCN Red List status of birds in Europe EX/RE CR EN • 12.6% of birds threatened 1,1% 1,9% 3,4% (CR, EN, VU) VU 7,3% NT 6,0% © Martin Mecnarowski LC 80,3% Distribution of threatened European birds Population trends of European birds Breeding Winter 21,8% 21,5% 18,5% 34,8% 16,3% 27,6% 29,1% 30,4% Threats to European birds Biological resource use Agriculture & aquaculture Climate change & severe weather Pollution Invasive & other problematic species,… Natural system modifications Human intrusions & disturbance Energy production & mining Threatened Residential & commercial development Non-threatened Transportation & service corridors 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 Number of species European Red List Publications 44 Web portal – European Commission http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/redlist/index_en.htm Results, Analysis, Background info 45 IUCN Red List website http://www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/europe Species accounts 46 BirdLife International DataZone http://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/european-red-list-birds-0 Thank you http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/conservation/species/redlist/index_en.htm http://www.iucnredlist.org/initiatives/europe http://www.birdlife.org/europe-and-central-asia/european-red-list-birds-0 48 .