Wildlife is under serious threat across the planet, despite the commitment by world leaders to reverse the trend of biodiversity loss by 2010, according to a detailed analysis of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
Asian Wild Ass (Equus hemionus). Threat category Endangered
Photo © Jean-Christophe ViéThe IUCN assessment, which is published every four years, has been released just before the deadline governments set themselves to evaluate how successful they were in achieving the 2010 target to reduce biodiversity loss.
Deadline will not be met
The IUCN report, "Wildlife in a Changing World," shows the 2010 target will not be met, the organization said in a statement today.
"When governments take action to reduce biodiversity loss there are some conservation successes, but we are still a long way from reversing the trend," says Jean-Christophe Vié, deputy head of IUCN's Species Program and senior editor of the publication.
"It's time to recognize that nature is the largest company on Earth working for the benefit of 100 percent of humankind--and it's doing it for free.
"Governments should put as much effort, if not more, into saving nature as they do into saving economic and financial sectors."
IUCN is the world's oldest and largest global environmental network. Based in Switzerland, it is a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries.
Its report analyzes 44,838 species on the IUCN Red List and presents results by groups of species, geographical regions, and different habitats, such as marine, freshwater and terrestrial.
The Red List is the most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. It is based on an objective system of assessing the risk of extinction for a species. Species listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable are collectively described as threatened.
"A minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction."
The updated list shows 869 species are Extinct or Extinct in the Wild, and this figure rises to 1,159 if the 290 Critically Endangered species tagged as Possibly Extinct are included, IUCN said.
"Overall, a minimum of 16,928 species are threatened with extinction."
Considering that only 2.7 percent of the 1.8 million described species have been analyzed, this number is a gross underestimate, IUCN added. "But it does provide a useful snapshot of what is happening to all forms of life on Earth."
Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex). Threat category Vulnerable (Photo © Jean-Christophe Vié)
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NGS photo of harlequin tree frogs by Paul Zahl
The scientists also organized bait-shop surveys to determine whether tiger salamanders are released back into the wild after being housed in shops, the NSF says.
