The Green status suggests the California condor would have gone extinct in the wild without conservation
DAVID MCNEW Getty Images North America/Getty Images/AFP/File
Marseille (AFP)
After decades of recording alarming declines in animals and plants, conservation experts have taken a more proactive approach, with a new "Green Status" launched on Saturday, billed as the first global measurement for tracking species recovery.
Since 1964, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed some 138,000 species for its Red List of Threatened Species, a powerful tool to highlight the plight of wildlife facing extinction.
Some 28 percent are currently at risk of vanishing forever.
Its new Green Status will act as a companion to this survival watchlist, looking at the extent to which species are depleted or restored compared to their historical population levels.
The initiative aims "to measure species recoveries in a standardised way, which has never been done before", Green Status co-chair Molly Grace told a news conference Saturday during the IUCN congress in Marseille.
But it also looks to "incentivise conservation action", with evaluations of how well past preservation efforts have worked, as well as projections for how effective future ones will be.
It was born of a realisation that "preventing extinction alone is not enough", said Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford.
Marseille (AFP)
After decades of recording alarming declines in animals and plants, conservation experts have taken a more proactive approach, with a new "Green Status" launched on Saturday, billed as the first global measurement for tracking species recovery.
Since 1964, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has assessed some 138,000 species for its Red List of Threatened Species, a powerful tool to highlight the plight of wildlife facing extinction.
Some 28 percent are currently at risk of vanishing forever.
Its new Green Status will act as a companion to this survival watchlist, looking at the extent to which species are depleted or restored compared to their historical population levels.
The initiative aims "to measure species recoveries in a standardised way, which has never been done before", Green Status co-chair Molly Grace told a news conference Saturday during the IUCN congress in Marseille.
But it also looks to "incentivise conservation action", with evaluations of how well past preservation efforts have worked, as well as projections for how effective future ones will be.
It was born of a realisation that "preventing extinction alone is not enough", said Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford.
The burrowing bettong now exists in just 5 percent of its indigenous range
TORSTEN BLACKWOOD AFP/File
Beyond the first step of stopping a species from disappearing entirely, "once it's out of danger, what does recovery look like?"
Efforts to halt extensive declines in numbers and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed to stop losses in the face of rampant habitat destruction, overexploitation and illegal wildlife trade.
In 2019 the UN's biodiversity experts warned that a million species were nearing extinction.
- 'Invisible' work -
The Green status of over 180 species have been assessed so far, although the IUCN hopes to one day to match the tens of thousands on the Red List.
They are classified on a sliding scale: from "fully recovered" through "slightly depleted", "moderately depleted", "largely depleted" and "critically depleted".
When all else has failed, the final listing is "extinct in the wild".
While these categories mirror the Red List rankings, "they're not simply a Red List in reverse", said Grace.
She gave the example of a pocket-sized Australian marsupial, the burrowing bettong, whose numbers have plummeted and which now exists in just five percent of its indigenous range.
Successful conservation efforts have seen populations stabilise, with a Red List rating improving from endangered to near threatened in recent decades.
But Grace said the Green Status assessment underscores that the species is not out of the woods, with a listing of critically depleted that suggests: "We have a long way to go before we recover this species."
The listing also incorporates an assessment of what would have happened if nothing had been done to save a given species.
The California condor, for example, has been classified as critically endangered for three decades, despite major investment in its preservation.
"Some people might think: 'We've been trying to conserve the condor for 30 years, its red list status has been critically endangered for all those 30 years, what is conservation actually doing for this species?'" said Grace.
But she said her team's evaluation of what would have happened without these protection efforts found that it would have gone extinct in the wild.
"What this does is it makes the invisible work of conservation visible. And this is hopefully going to be really powerful in incentivising and justifying the amazing work that conservationists do," said Grace.
© 2021 AFP
Beyond the first step of stopping a species from disappearing entirely, "once it's out of danger, what does recovery look like?"
Efforts to halt extensive declines in numbers and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed to stop losses in the face of rampant habitat destruction, overexploitation and illegal wildlife trade.
In 2019 the UN's biodiversity experts warned that a million species were nearing extinction.
- 'Invisible' work -
The Green status of over 180 species have been assessed so far, although the IUCN hopes to one day to match the tens of thousands on the Red List.
They are classified on a sliding scale: from "fully recovered" through "slightly depleted", "moderately depleted", "largely depleted" and "critically depleted".
When all else has failed, the final listing is "extinct in the wild".
While these categories mirror the Red List rankings, "they're not simply a Red List in reverse", said Grace.
She gave the example of a pocket-sized Australian marsupial, the burrowing bettong, whose numbers have plummeted and which now exists in just five percent of its indigenous range.
Successful conservation efforts have seen populations stabilise, with a Red List rating improving from endangered to near threatened in recent decades.
But Grace said the Green Status assessment underscores that the species is not out of the woods, with a listing of critically depleted that suggests: "We have a long way to go before we recover this species."
The listing also incorporates an assessment of what would have happened if nothing had been done to save a given species.
The California condor, for example, has been classified as critically endangered for three decades, despite major investment in its preservation.
"Some people might think: 'We've been trying to conserve the condor for 30 years, its red list status has been critically endangered for all those 30 years, what is conservation actually doing for this species?'" said Grace.
But she said her team's evaluation of what would have happened without these protection efforts found that it would have gone extinct in the wild.
"What this does is it makes the invisible work of conservation visible. And this is hopefully going to be really powerful in incentivising and justifying the amazing work that conservationists do," said Grace.
© 2021 AFP
Komodo dragon, 2-in-5 shark species lurch towards extinction
Issued on: 04/09/2021 -
At least 30 percent of the Komodo dragon's habitat is projected to be l
ost in the next 45 years
Romeo GACAD AFP/File
Marseille (AFP)
Trapped on island habitats made smaller by rising seas, Indonesia's Komodo dragons were listed as "endangered" on Saturday, in an update of the wildlife Red List that also warned overfishing threatens nearly two-in-five sharks with extinction.
About 28 percent of the 138,000 species assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are now at risk of vanishing in the wild forever, as the destructive impact of human activity on the natural world deepens.
But the latest update of the Red List for Threatened Species also highlights the potential for restoration, with four commercially-fished tuna species pulling back from a slide towards extinction after a decade of efforts to curb over-exploitation.
The most spectacular recovery was seen in Atlantic bluefin tuna, which leapt from "endangered" across three categories to the safe zone of "least concern".
The species -- a mainstay of high-end sushi in Japan -- was last assessed in 2011.
"This shows that conservation works -- when we do the right thing, a species can increase," said Jane Smart, global director of IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group.
"But we must remain vigilant. This doesn't mean we can have a free-for-all of fishing for these tuna species."
- 'Clarion call' -
A key message from the IUCN Congress, taking place in the French city of Marseille, is that disappearing species and the destruction of ecosystems are existential threats on a par with global warming.
And climate change itself is threatening the futures of many species, particularly endemic animals and plants that live on small islands or in certain biodiversity hotspots.
Komodo dragons -- the largest living lizards -- are found only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores.
The species "is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change" said the IUCN: rising sea levels are expected to shrink its tiny habitat at least 30 percent over the next 45 years.
Marseille (AFP)
Trapped on island habitats made smaller by rising seas, Indonesia's Komodo dragons were listed as "endangered" on Saturday, in an update of the wildlife Red List that also warned overfishing threatens nearly two-in-five sharks with extinction.
About 28 percent of the 138,000 species assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are now at risk of vanishing in the wild forever, as the destructive impact of human activity on the natural world deepens.
But the latest update of the Red List for Threatened Species also highlights the potential for restoration, with four commercially-fished tuna species pulling back from a slide towards extinction after a decade of efforts to curb over-exploitation.
The most spectacular recovery was seen in Atlantic bluefin tuna, which leapt from "endangered" across three categories to the safe zone of "least concern".
The species -- a mainstay of high-end sushi in Japan -- was last assessed in 2011.
"This shows that conservation works -- when we do the right thing, a species can increase," said Jane Smart, global director of IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group.
"But we must remain vigilant. This doesn't mean we can have a free-for-all of fishing for these tuna species."
- 'Clarion call' -
A key message from the IUCN Congress, taking place in the French city of Marseille, is that disappearing species and the destruction of ecosystems are existential threats on a par with global warming.
And climate change itself is threatening the futures of many species, particularly endemic animals and plants that live on small islands or in certain biodiversity hotspots.
Komodo dragons -- the largest living lizards -- are found only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores.
The species "is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change" said the IUCN: rising sea levels are expected to shrink its tiny habitat at least 30 percent over the next 45 years.
Nowhere to run: Komodo dragons have a limited habitat
JUNI KRISWANTO AFP/File
Outside of protected areas, the fearsome throwbacks are also rapidly losing ground as humanity's footprint expands.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying," said Andrew Terry, Conservation Director at the Zoological Society of London.
Their decline is a "clarion call for nature to be placed at the heart of all decision making" at crunch UN climate talks in Glasgow, he added.
- 'An alarming rate' -
The most comprehensive survey of sharks and rays ever undertaken, meanwhile, revealed that 37 percent of 1,200 species evaluated are now classified as directly threatened with extinction, falling into one of three categories: "vulnerable", "endangered" or "critically endangered".
That's a third more species at risk than only seven years ago, said Simon Fraser University Professor Nicholas Dulvy, lead author of a study published on Monday underpinning the Red List assessment.
"The conservation status of the group as a whole continues to deteriorate, and overall risk of extinction is rising at an alarming rate," he told AFP.
Outside of protected areas, the fearsome throwbacks are also rapidly losing ground as humanity's footprint expands.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying," said Andrew Terry, Conservation Director at the Zoological Society of London.
Their decline is a "clarion call for nature to be placed at the heart of all decision making" at crunch UN climate talks in Glasgow, he added.
- 'An alarming rate' -
The most comprehensive survey of sharks and rays ever undertaken, meanwhile, revealed that 37 percent of 1,200 species evaluated are now classified as directly threatened with extinction, falling into one of three categories: "vulnerable", "endangered" or "critically endangered".
That's a third more species at risk than only seven years ago, said Simon Fraser University Professor Nicholas Dulvy, lead author of a study published on Monday underpinning the Red List assessment.
"The conservation status of the group as a whole continues to deteriorate, and overall risk of extinction is rising at an alarming rate," he told AFP.
The Earth's mass extinctions Alain BOMMENEL AFP
Five species of sawfish -- whose serrated snouts get tangled in cast off fishing gear -- and the iconic shortfin mako shark are among those most threatened.
Chondrichthyan fish, a group made up mainly of sharks and rays, "are important to ecosystems, economies and cultures," Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International and co-author of the upcoming study, told AFP.
"By not sufficiently limiting catch, we're jeopardising ocean health and squandering opportunities for sustainable fishing, tourism, traditions and food security in the long term."
Five species of sawfish -- whose serrated snouts get tangled in cast off fishing gear -- and the iconic shortfin mako shark are among those most threatened.
Chondrichthyan fish, a group made up mainly of sharks and rays, "are important to ecosystems, economies and cultures," Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International and co-author of the upcoming study, told AFP.
"By not sufficiently limiting catch, we're jeopardising ocean health and squandering opportunities for sustainable fishing, tourism, traditions and food security in the long term."
A shortfin mako shark being fished for sport in The United States in 2017
Maddie Meyer GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP/File
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports some 800,000 tonnes of sharks caught -- intentionally or opportunistically -- each year, but research suggests the true figure is two to four times greater.
- Conservation tracker -
The IUCN on Saturday also officially launched its "green status" -- the first global standard for assessing species recovery and measuring conservation impacts.
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports some 800,000 tonnes of sharks caught -- intentionally or opportunistically -- each year, but research suggests the true figure is two to four times greater.
- Conservation tracker -
The IUCN on Saturday also officially launched its "green status" -- the first global standard for assessing species recovery and measuring conservation impacts.
While Atlantic Bluefin tuna has seen a dramatic recovery, Pacific Bluefin continues to be critically endangered
Pau BARRENA AFP/File
"It makes the invisible work of conservation visible," Molly Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford and Green Status co-chair, told a press conference on Saturday.
Efforts to halt extensive declines in numbers and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed.
In 2019 the UN's biodiversity experts warned that a million species are on the brink of extinction -- raising the spectre that the planet is on the verge of its sixth mass extinction event in 500 million years.
The IUCN Congress is widely seen as a testing ground for a UN treaty -- to be finalised at a summit in Kunming, China next May -- to save nature.
"We would like to see that plan call for the halt to biodiversity loss by 2030," said Smart.
A cornerstone of the new global deal could be setting aside 30 percent of Earth's land and oceans as protected areas, she added.
© 2021 AFP
Nearly 30% of 138,000 assessed species face extinction, says IUCN report
Issued on: 04/09/2021 -
Text by: FRANCE 24Follow|
Video by: Valérie DEKIMPE
Nearly 30 percent of the 138,374 species assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for its survival watchlist are now at risk of vanishing in the wild forever, as the destructive impact of human activity on the natural world deepens.
Trapped on island habitats made smaller by rising seas, Indonesia's Komodo dragons were listed as "endangered" on Saturday, in an update of the wildlife Red List that also warned overfishing threatens nearly two-in-five sharks with extinction.
But the latest update of the Red List for Threatened Species also highlights the potential for restoration, with four commercially fished tuna species pulling back from a slide towards extinction after a decade of efforts to curb overexploitation.
The most spectacular recovery was seen in the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which leapt from "endangered" across three categories to the safe zone of "least concern".
The species - a mainstay of high-end sushi in Japan - was last assessed in 2011.
"These Red List assessments demonstrate just how closely our lives and livelihoods are intertwined with biodiversity," IUCN Director General Bruno Oberle said in a statement.
'Clarion call'
A key message from the IUCN Congress, taking place in the French city of Marseille, is that disappearing species and the destruction of ecosystems are no less existential threats than global warming.
At the same time, climate change itself is casting a darker shadow than ever before on the futures of many species, particularly endemic animals and plants that live uniquely on small islands or in certain biodiversity hotspots.
Komodo dragons -- the world's largest living lizards -- are found only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores.
The species "is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change" said the IUCN: rising sea levels are expected to shrink its tiny habitat at least 30 percent over the next 45 years.
Outside of protected areas, the fearsome throwbacks are also rapidly losing ground as humanity's footprint expands.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying," said Andrew Terry, Conservation Director at the Zoological Society of London.
Their decline is a "clarion call for nature to be placed at the heart of all decision making" at crunch UN climate talks in Glasgow, he added.
'An alarming rate'
The most comprehensive survey of sharks and rays ever undertaken, meanwhile, revealed that 37 percent of 1,200 species evaluated are now classified as directly threatened with extinction, falling into one of three categories: "vulnerable," "endangered," or "critically endangered".
That's a third more species at risk than only seven years ago, said Simon Fraser University Professor Nicholas Dulvy, lead author of a study published on Monday underpinning the Red List assessment.
"The conservation status of the group as a whole continues to deteriorate, and overall risk of extinction is rising at an alarming rate," he told AFP.
Five species of sawfish - whose serated snouts get tangled in cast off fishing gear - and the iconic shortfin mako shark are among those most threatened.
Chondrichthyan fish, a group made up mainly of sharks and rays, "are important to ecosystems, economies and cultures," Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International and co-author of the upcoming study, told AFP.
"By not sufficiently limiting catch, we're jeopardising ocean health and squandering opportunities for sustainable fishing, tourism, traditions and food security in the long term."
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports some 800,000 tonnes of sharks caught -- intentionally or opportunistically -- each year, but research suggests the true figure is two to four times greater.
Conservation tracker
The IUCN on Saturday also officially launched its "green status" -- the first global standard for assessing species recovery and measuring conservation impacts.
"It makes the invisible work of conservation visible," Molly Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford and Green Status co-chair, said at a press conference on Saturday.
The new yardstick measures the extent to which species are depleted or recovered compared to their historical population levels, and assesses the effectiveness of past and potential future conservation actions.
Efforts to halt extensive declines in numbers and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed.
In 2019 the UN's biodiversity experts warned that a million species are on the brink of extinction - raising the spectre that the planet is on the verge of its sixth mass extinction event in 500 million years.
"The red list status shows that we're on the cusp of the sixth extinction event," the IUCN's Head of Red List Unit Craig Hilton-Taylor told AFP.
"If the trends carry on going upward at that rate, we'll be facing a major crisis soon."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
"It makes the invisible work of conservation visible," Molly Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford and Green Status co-chair, told a press conference on Saturday.
Efforts to halt extensive declines in numbers and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed.
In 2019 the UN's biodiversity experts warned that a million species are on the brink of extinction -- raising the spectre that the planet is on the verge of its sixth mass extinction event in 500 million years.
The IUCN Congress is widely seen as a testing ground for a UN treaty -- to be finalised at a summit in Kunming, China next May -- to save nature.
"We would like to see that plan call for the halt to biodiversity loss by 2030," said Smart.
A cornerstone of the new global deal could be setting aside 30 percent of Earth's land and oceans as protected areas, she added.
© 2021 AFP
Nearly 30% of 138,000 assessed species face extinction, says IUCN report
Issued on: 04/09/2021 -
Text by: FRANCE 24Follow|
Video by: Valérie DEKIMPE
Nearly 30 percent of the 138,374 species assessed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) for its survival watchlist are now at risk of vanishing in the wild forever, as the destructive impact of human activity on the natural world deepens.
Trapped on island habitats made smaller by rising seas, Indonesia's Komodo dragons were listed as "endangered" on Saturday, in an update of the wildlife Red List that also warned overfishing threatens nearly two-in-five sharks with extinction.
But the latest update of the Red List for Threatened Species also highlights the potential for restoration, with four commercially fished tuna species pulling back from a slide towards extinction after a decade of efforts to curb overexploitation.
The most spectacular recovery was seen in the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which leapt from "endangered" across three categories to the safe zone of "least concern".
The species - a mainstay of high-end sushi in Japan - was last assessed in 2011.
"These Red List assessments demonstrate just how closely our lives and livelihoods are intertwined with biodiversity," IUCN Director General Bruno Oberle said in a statement.
'Clarion call'
A key message from the IUCN Congress, taking place in the French city of Marseille, is that disappearing species and the destruction of ecosystems are no less existential threats than global warming.
At the same time, climate change itself is casting a darker shadow than ever before on the futures of many species, particularly endemic animals and plants that live uniquely on small islands or in certain biodiversity hotspots.
Komodo dragons -- the world's largest living lizards -- are found only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores.
The species "is increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change" said the IUCN: rising sea levels are expected to shrink its tiny habitat at least 30 percent over the next 45 years.
Outside of protected areas, the fearsome throwbacks are also rapidly losing ground as humanity's footprint expands.
"The idea that these prehistoric animals have moved one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying," said Andrew Terry, Conservation Director at the Zoological Society of London.
Their decline is a "clarion call for nature to be placed at the heart of all decision making" at crunch UN climate talks in Glasgow, he added.
'An alarming rate'
The most comprehensive survey of sharks and rays ever undertaken, meanwhile, revealed that 37 percent of 1,200 species evaluated are now classified as directly threatened with extinction, falling into one of three categories: "vulnerable," "endangered," or "critically endangered".
That's a third more species at risk than only seven years ago, said Simon Fraser University Professor Nicholas Dulvy, lead author of a study published on Monday underpinning the Red List assessment.
"The conservation status of the group as a whole continues to deteriorate, and overall risk of extinction is rising at an alarming rate," he told AFP.
Five species of sawfish - whose serated snouts get tangled in cast off fishing gear - and the iconic shortfin mako shark are among those most threatened.
Chondrichthyan fish, a group made up mainly of sharks and rays, "are important to ecosystems, economies and cultures," Sonja Fordham, president of Shark Advocates International and co-author of the upcoming study, told AFP.
"By not sufficiently limiting catch, we're jeopardising ocean health and squandering opportunities for sustainable fishing, tourism, traditions and food security in the long term."
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports some 800,000 tonnes of sharks caught -- intentionally or opportunistically -- each year, but research suggests the true figure is two to four times greater.
Conservation tracker
The IUCN on Saturday also officially launched its "green status" -- the first global standard for assessing species recovery and measuring conservation impacts.
"It makes the invisible work of conservation visible," Molly Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford and Green Status co-chair, said at a press conference on Saturday.
The new yardstick measures the extent to which species are depleted or recovered compared to their historical population levels, and assesses the effectiveness of past and potential future conservation actions.
Efforts to halt extensive declines in numbers and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed.
In 2019 the UN's biodiversity experts warned that a million species are on the brink of extinction - raising the spectre that the planet is on the verge of its sixth mass extinction event in 500 million years.
"The red list status shows that we're on the cusp of the sixth extinction event," the IUCN's Head of Red List Unit Craig Hilton-Taylor told AFP.
"If the trends carry on going upward at that rate, we'll be facing a major crisis soon."
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
