Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 6.1
Highlights of the 2008 IUCN Red List
Some of the highlights of the 2008 update of The IUCN Red List include the following:
•
A complete reassessment of the world's mammals showed that nearly one
quarter (22 per cent) of the world's mammal species are globally threatened or
Extinct and 836 (15 per cent) are Data Deficient.
•
The addition of 366 new amphibian species, many listed as threatened, and the
confirmed extinction of two species, which reaffirms the extinction crisis faced
by amphibians; nearly one-third (31 per cent) are threatened or Extinct and 25
per cent are Data Deficient.
•
A complete reassessment of the world's birds indicates that more than one in
eight (13.6 per cent) are considered threatened or extinct; birds are one of the
best known groups with less than 1 per cent being listed as Data Deficient.
•
For the first time, 845 species of warm water reef-building corals have been
included on the Red List with more than one-quarter (27 per cent) listed as
threatened and 17 per cent as Data Deficient.
•
All 161 species of groupers are now assessed; over 12 per cent of these highly
sought after luxury live food fish species are threatened with extinction as a
result of unsustainable fishing; a further 30 per cent are Data Deficient.
•
All 1,280 species of freshwater crabs have been assessed, 16 per cent of which
are listed as threatened with extinction, but a further 49 per cent are Data
Deficient.
•
359 freshwater fishes endemic to Europe, with 24 per cent listed as threatened
and only 4 per cent listed as Data Deficient.
Some species are much more susceptible to climate change impacts than others
due to inherent biological traits related to their life history, ecology, behaviour,
physiology and genetics.
•
High risks of extinction occur when species experience both high susceptibility
to climate change and large climatic changes.
•
IUCN has conducted assessments of susceptibility to climate change for the
world's birds, amphibians and warm water reef-building coral species. Based
on a range of taxon-specific traits, we found that 35 per cent, 52 per cent and
71 per cent of these groups respectively have traits that render them particularly
susceptible to climate change impacts.
•
70-80 per cent of birds, amphibians and corals that are already threatened are
also 'climate-change-susceptible'. Given exposure to large climatic changes,
these species which also have least resilience to further threat, already face the
greatest risk of extinction. Of species that are not considered threatened, 28-71
per cent are 'climate change susceptible'. We identify the taxonomic groups
and geographic regions harbouring the greatest concentrations of the above
species and recommend that they are given high conservation priority.
•
Assessments of 'climate-change susceptibility' complement IUCN Red List
assessments of extinction risk and serve as a 'warning flag' highlighting the need
for intensive monitoring and potentially conservation action for affected species.
Source: adapted from
www.iucn.org/news_homepage/?13243/Worlds-oldest-and-largest-
