IUCN Red List

2017–2020 Report

ENDANGERED
EN

Image credits: Rodrigues Fruit Bat (Pteropus rodricensis) © Jacques de Speville

Contents 00 Introduction
01 Executive summary
02 Status and Trends in Global Biodiversity
03 The Extinction Risk of Species

04 Conserving species using the IUCN Red List

05 Global Species Monitoring
06 Influencing Global Ambition for Species Conservation
09 Examples of recovery and avoided extinction
13 Guiding Decision-making to Conserve Species
16 Catalysing Conservation Action
18 Science-based Species Conservation

20 An updated and improved IUCN Red List

22 New Entries on the IUCN Red List
24 Species that are recovering
25 Species that are declining

26 IUCN Red List at Regional and National Levels

30 New IUCN Red List website

32 Scientifically strong IUCN Red List

34 An updated and improved IUCN Red List

35 Online Red List Training
36 Red List Training Workshops

38 The IUCN Red List partnership

39 The IUCN Red List: Oversight and financing
40 Acknowledgments
Explainer Executive Summary
IUCN GSP This report captures the highlights of the conservation
A membership Union founded in 1948, uniquely The Global Species Programme (GSP) is part of the impact of the The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
composed of both government and civil society IUCN Secretariat and works closely with the SSC at 2017–2020. It represents the collective efforts of the IUCN
organizations. It provides public, private and non- the forefront of the global fight to save species from
governmental organizations with the knowledge extinction. Comprising teams in Belgrade, Brussels, Red List Partnership and reports against the ten target
and tools that enable human progress, economic Cambridge, Cameroon, Gland and Washington D.C, Results of the IUCN Red List Strategic Plan (2017-2030).
development and nature conservation to take place the GSP main functions are to generate, curate and
together. disseminate The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM
and to advance conservation action and policy.
SSC
Five Key Messages
The Species Survival Commission (SSC) is the largest of Red List Partnership
the six expert commissions of IUCN and enables IUCN The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is made
to influence, encourage and assist societies to conserve possible through the active participation of the Red List 1. A global standard. The IUCN Red List is the acknowledged
biodiversity by building knowledge on the status and Partners and their respective networks. As a result, authority on species extinction risk and an authoritative
threats to species, providing advice, developing policies the IUCN Red List represents an enormous investment compendium of information on the global conservation
and guidelines, facilitating conservation planning, of time, expertise and financial resources by a large
and catalysing conservation action. Members of SSC number of individuals and organizations. IUCN gratefully
status of species. Use of the IUCN Red List and Red List
belong to one or more of the 140 Specialist Groups, acknowledges the contributions, dedication and Index increased, with the Sustainable Development Goals,
Red List Authorities and Task Forces, each focusing commitment from its Partners and the extensive network the private sector, multilateral environmental agreements,
on a taxonomic group (animals, fungi and plants), of people who make the production of The IUCN global media outlets, digital platforms, and donors all relying
or a disciplinary issue, such as sustainable use and Red List possible. The IUCN Red List of Threatened
livelihoods, translocation of species, wildlife health, Species is produced by the Red List Partnership, on its content to either make decisions or communicate
climate change and conservation planning. currently: ABQ BioPark, Arizona State University, about the biodiversity crisis.
BirdLife International, Botanic Gardens Conservation
International, Conservation International, International 2. A Barometer of Life. The IUCN Red List tracks and
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Missouri
measures the status and trends in wild species across
Botanical Gardens, NatureServe, Re:Wild, Royal Botanic
Gardens Kew, Sapienza University of Rome, IUCN the globe. Assessments of all major species groups such
Species Survival Commission, Texas A & M University as plants, fungi, invertebrates, reptiles, and fish, continue
and Zoological Society of London. to expand in number and scope. The IUCN Red List of
Threatened Species expanded its coverage of the world’s
biodiversity by 51% between 2017 and 2020.

3. A global measure of success. The IUCN Red List data

provided evidence of improvements in species’ status due
to conservation action, demonstrating that ‘conservation
works’. We need to scale up these efforts to address the
biodiversity crisis.

4. A global partnership. The IUCN Red List Partnership

provides the long-term commitment and collaboration
needed to deliver the complexity and scale of the IUCN
Red List.

5. A global public good. With the growing understanding that

a healthy and functioning natural world delivers countless
benefits, the Red List provides a potential benefit to all
people in all countries.

1
 Status and Trends in Global Biodiversity The Extinction Risk of Species
The world aspires to stabilise the decline in The IUCN Red List includes 128,918 species assessed in each category for the more comprehensively assessed (i.e., at least 80%
biodiversity and put nature on the path to of which 35,765 (28%) are threatened of the species in the group has been assessed) groups containing ≥150 species
recovery by 2030. The IUCN Red List gives with extinction. Certain groups are known
a window into the state of nature and a way to be considerably threatened, such as
Total Extant
of tracking biodiversity recovery, or decline, amphibians (41%), sharks (31%) and corals EW CR EN VU DD NT LC
Species assesssed
over time. Without the IUCN Red List, work (33%) with increased extinction risks (i.e., excluding EX)
to stop the decline in biodiversity would be observed since 1990.
Cephalopods 750
little more than guesswork.
Selected Bony Fishes 4,712

Selected Gastropods 633

The Red List Index Birds 10,999

Mammals 5,847
1.0
Corals Selected Crustaceans 2,879

Reef-forming Corals 845

Birds
IUCN Red List index of species survival

Conifers 610
0.9
Selected Reptiles 342

Sharks, Rays & Chimaeras 1,200

Mamals Selected Eudicots 4,317

0.8
extinction risk

Amphibians 7,177

Amphibians Cyads 307

0.7 Proportion of extant species

Proportion of species threatened with extinction in different taxonomic groups that are
0.6 comprehensively assessed for the IUCN Red List. Species are grouped into classes (with
the exception of reef-forming corals, which includes species from classes Hydrozoa and
Cycads
Anthozoa), and are ordered according to the vertical dark red lines, which indicate the best
estimate for the proportion of extant species considered threatened, assuming that Data
0.5 Deficient species are equally as threatened as non-Data Deficient species. The numbers
to the right of each bar represent the total number of extant species assessed for each
1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 group. Taxonomic subsets included in the groups labelled ‘selected’ are detailed at
Year https://www.iucnredlist.org/resources/summary-statistics
Key: Extremes Most likely value

The Red List Index (RLI) of species survival for taxonomic groups that have been
assessed for the IUCN Red List at least twice.The blue line indicates the overall RLI for The IUCN Red List tells us which species are the most likely to go extinct, where
all the taxa combined. A value of 1 is equivalent to all species being categorised as these species occur, the threats causing the extinction pressure and the conservation
Least Concern; a value of zero is equivalent to all species being classified as Extinct. actions needed.

2 3
Conserving species using the IUCN Red List Global Species Monitoring
The IUCN Red List was used in many different Statistics from The IUCN Red List and the Red List Index were used as indicators of
biodiversity for global agreements and reports mandated by the United Nations. Examples of
ways to drive, monitor and communicate about the IUCN Red List and the Red List Index as the primary source of information on the global
status of species in UN-mandated assessments are shown below
conservation.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is the most comprehensive compendium 2020: Global 2020: UNEP and
of information on the global conservation status of animal, plant and fungi species. Biodiversity FAO report on
Global Outlook 5 2020 2018 of the
The State
Systematically collated, the IUCN Red List showcases the changing state of life on earth 2018 2018

Biodiversity
and the risk of extinction over time for major groups of species. This knowledge also Outlook 5 World’s Forests
enables us to forecast changes in rates of biodiversity loss, map the way forward for
biodiversity conservation, and track conservation success. Far more than a list, The IUCN
Red List is a vital indicator of the health of biodiversity, at national, regional, and global THE STATE OF
levels; it is widely used for societal decision making, helping donors decide how to allocate THE WORLD’S
FORESTS
their funds and the private sector minimise their footprint. It also informs conservation
planning, telling us which species need to be conserved, at which sites, and what actions
FORESTS, BIODIVERSITY
AND PEOPLE

are needed for their recovery.

2019: IPBES Global 2018: UNEP and

Assessment Report RAMSAR’s Global
on Biodiversity Wetland Outlook:
and Ecosystem State of the World’s
Services Wetlands

GLOBAL
The global
assessment report on WETLAND
BIODIVERSITY
AND ECOSYSTEM cover
human
OUTLOOK
naturalpic to show
wetland with
flourishing
SERVICES
State of the world’s
SUMMARY FOR POLICYMAKERS
wetlands and their

“The IUCN Red List is the gold standard globally in Convention

on Wetlands
services to people 2018

conservation data. It helps set priorities way beyond

what IUCN itself does. From the outset it has helped
set priorities for the Global Environment Facility, as
well as influencing priorities regionally and nationally.
It is the Rosetta Stone for conservation.”
Thomas E. Lovejoy
University Professor In Environmental Science and Policy, George Mason University; Senior Advisor to the Chair,
Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel, Global Environment Facility. Blue Planet Prize Laureate 2012

4 5
Sustainable Development Goals and other global agreements
The Red List Index shows trends in overall Red List Index as an indicator for Strategic
extinction risk for species, and is used Objective 4.
by governments and others to track their
progress towards targets for reducing Two of the UN’s species-focussed global
biodiversity loss. This is only made possible agreements, on migratory species and
by regular updates of species assessments internationally traded species, used the
on the IUCN Red List and data and graphs IUCN Red List as a basis for guiding
on different Red List Indices are available on decision making. The IUCN Red List was
the IUCN Red List website. used to guide decisions under CITES related
to (i) the inclusion of new species in the
The Red List Index serves as the single Convention - more here, (ii) assessments
indicator adopted by the UN Member States, of the risk posed by international trade to
supported by the UN Statistical Division, for species that can be legally traded and (iii)
tracking progress towards delivery of SDG assessing the conservation status of species
15.5. For more, see the SDG annual report for which commercial trade is prohibited.
and platform.
It is also used in the Living Planet series
The United Nations Convention to Combat of reports
Desertification uses the IUCN Red List and

Influencing Global Ambition for Species Conservation

Analyses of the IUCN Red List delivered compelling high-level messages to
policy-makers and the global media through:

The convening power of IUCN

The IUCN Red List helped shape the 2019 It calls for collaborative efforts by the
Abu Dhabi Call for Species Conservation biodiversity-related conventions, by State and
Action that encourages governments and non-State actors, and society as a whole to
donor institutions to allocate substantial act now to ensure we pass on a rich natural
additional resources for conservation of heritage to future generations.
species and their habitats to halt the decline
in biodiversity. The IUCN Red List is also the foundation
on which ‘Reverse the Red’ was conceived.
This led to the Global Species Action Reverse the Red aims to ignite optimism
Plan which addresses the deterioration and collaborative action to guarantee the
VULNERABLE
of our life support system through the survival of all species we share this planet
VU
essential but often neglected lens of with, and the ecosystems they live in. It aims
species conservation. to empower communities around the world to
reverse the declining trajectory of biodiversity.

Image credits: Chinese Water Dragon (Physignathus cocincinus) © Michael Cota

6 7
Messages from Scientists to Examples of recovery and avoided extinction
Policy Makers

These clear and compelling messages were made possible through analyses Guam Rail
of the IUCN Red List data. Hypotaenidia owstoni
second bird in history to recover after being
RES EARCH Pervasive human-driven decline of life on declared Extinct in the Wild, after the California
Earth points to the need for profound change Condor (Gymnogyps californianus). Thanks
◥ These trends in nature and its contribu-
REVIEW SUMMARY tions to people are projected to worsen in the
coming decades—unevenly so among differ-
GLOBAL CONSERVATION ent regions—unless rapid and integrated action
is taken to reduce the direct drivers responsible
Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth
to a 35-year captive breeding programme,
for most change over the past 50 years: land
and sea use change, direct harvesting of many
points to the need for transformative change plants and animals, climate change (whose im-
pacts are set to accelerate), pollution, and the

Diaz et al. 2019 showed that “the fabric of life on

Sandra Díaz*, Josef Settele, Eduardo S. Brondízio, Hien T. Ngo, John Agard, Almut Arneth, spread of invasive alien species. Exploratory

the Guam Rail is now established on the

Patricia Balvanera, Kate A. Brauman, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Kai M. A. Chan, Lucas A. Garibaldi, ◥
scenarios suggest that a
Kazuhito Ichii, Jianguo Liu, Suneetha M. Subramanian, Guy F. Midgley, Patricia Miloslavich, ON OUR WEBSITE world with increased re-
Zsolt Molnár, David Obura, Alexander Pfaff, Stephen Polasky, Andy Purvis, Jona Razzaque, Read the full article gional barriers—resonat-
Belinda Reyers, Rinku Roy Chowdhury, Yunne-Jai Shin, Ingrid Visseren-Hamakers, at http://dx.doi. ing with recent geopolitical

which we all depend-nature and its contributions to

Katherine J. Willis, Cynthia N. Zayas org/10.1126/ trends—will yield more

neighbouring Cocos Island. However, the bird

science.aax3100 negative global trends in
..................................................
nature, as well as the greatest
BACKGROUND: Human actions have long been energy, timber, and more, with global trade disparity in trends across regions, greater
known to drive declines in nature, and there is increasing the geographic separation between than a world with liberal financial markets, and

people-is unravelling rapidly. Despite the severity of

growing awareness of how globalization means supply and demand. This unparalleled appro- much greater than one that prioritizes and in-

is still classified as Critically Endangered – one

that these drivers increasingly act at a distance priation of nature is causing the fabric of life tegrates actions toward sustainable develop-
Downloaded from http://science.sciencemag.org/ on July 21, 2021

(telecoupling). However, evidence from differ- on which humanity depends to fray and un- ment. Evidence from target-seeking scenarios
ent disciplines has largely accumulated in par- ravel: Most indicators of the state of nature, and pathways indicates that a world that
allel, and the global effects of telecouplings have whether monitored by natural and social achieves many of the global biodiversity tar-

the threats and lack of enough progress in tackling

never been addressed comprehensively. Now, the scientists or by Indigenous Peoples and local gets and sustainability goals related to food,

step away from extinction.

first integrated global-scale intergovernmental communities, are declining. These include the energy, climate, and water is not—yet—beyond
assessment of the status, trends, and future of number and population size of wild species, reach, but that no single action can get us there.
the links between people and nature provides the number of local varieties of domesticated
an unprecedented picture of the extent of our species, the distinctness of ecological com- OUTLOOK: Our comprehensive assessment of
mutual dependence, the breadth and depth of munities, and the extent and integrity of status, trends, and possible futures for nature

them to date, opportunities exist to change future

the ongoing and impending crisis, and the in- many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. As and people suggests that action at the level
terconnectedness among sectors and regions. a consequence, nature’s capacity to provide of direct drivers of nature decline, although
crucial benefits has also declined, including necessary, is not sufficient to prevent further
ADVANCES: Human impacts on life on Earth environmental processes underpinning hu- deterioration of the fabric of life on Earth.
have increased sharply since the 1970s. The man health and nonmaterial contributions Reversal of recent declines—and a sustainable

trajectories through transformative action. Such action

world is increasingly managed to maximize to human quality of life. The costs are dis- global future—are only possible with urgent
the flow of material contributions from na- tributed unequally, as are the benefits of an transformative change that tackles the root
ture to keep up with rising demands for food, expanding global economy. causes: the interconnected economic, socio-
cultural, demographic, political, institutional,
and technological indirect drivers behind the

must begin immediately, however, and address the

direct drivers. As well as a pan-sectoral ap-
proach to conserving and restoring the nature
that underpins many goals, this transforma-
tion will need innovative governance approaches

Echo Parakeet
that are adaptive; inclusive; informed by exist-

root economic, social, and technological causes of

ing and new evidence; and integrative across
systems, jurisdictions, and tools. Although the
challenge is formidable, every delay will make
the task even harder. Crucially, our analysis
pinpoints five priority interventions (“levers”)

nature's deterioration.” Alexandrinus eques

and eight leverage points for intervention in
the indirect drivers of global social and eco-
nomic systems where they can make the biggest
difference.
▪
PHOTO CREDIT WWW.ESTEBANTAPELLA.COM

The list of author affiliations is available in the full article online.

*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Cite this article as S. Díaz et al., Science 366, eaax3100

continues its recovery thanks to conservation

(2019). DOI: 10.1126/science.aaw3100
Traditional diversity-rich human landscapes, and the livelihoods and identities that depend on them,
face global threats. Mosaics of crops, forest, and pasture have been maintained for millennia around the
world. Now, they are under increasing threat from climate change and large-scale land use change to TOMORROW’S EARTH
accommodate global demands for commodities. So are the livelihoods and cultural identity of the peoples that Read more articles online

efforts, including a highly successful captive

live in them, such as this woman collecting fodder for her flock in the Checacupe district, Perú. at scim.ag/TomorrowsEarth

Díaz et al., Science 366, 1327 (2019) 13 December 2019 1 of 1

breeding programme. There are now more than

750 Echo Parakeets in the wild, and in the 2019
Red List update the species was reclassified
Received: 12 February 2020

DOI: 10.1111/conl.12762
Revised: 10 August 2020 Accepted: 23 August 2020
How many bird and mammal extinctions as Vulnerable, following its improvement from
LETTER

have been prevented through recent Critically Endangered to Endangered in 2007.

How many bird and mammal extinctions has recent
conservation action prevented?

Friederike C. Bolam1 Louise Mair1 Marco Angelico2 Thomas M. Brooks3,4,5

conservation action?
Mark Burgman6 Claudia Hermes7 Michael Hoffmann8 Rob W. Martin7
Philip J.K. McGowan1 Ana S.L. Rodrigues9 Carlo Rondinini2

Bolam et al. 2020 showed that even though 10 bird and

James R.S. Westrip10 Hannah Wheatley7 Yuliana Bedolla-Guzmán11
Javier Calzada12 Matthew F. Child13,14 Peter A. Cranswick15
Christopher R. Dickman16,17 Birgit Fessl18 Diana O. Fisher19

five mammal species have become extinct since 1993,

Stephen T. Garnett20,17 Jim J. Groombridge21 Christopher N. Johnson22
Rosalind J. Kennerley23 Sarah R.B. King24 John F. Lamoreux25

Two freshwater fish species – the

Alexander C. Lees26,27 Luc Lens28 Simon P. Mahood29,20 David P. Mallon26,30

extinction rates would have been 2.9–4.2 times greater

Erik Meijaard31,21 Federico Méndez-Sánchez11,32 Alexandre Reis Percequillo33
Tracey J. Regan34,35 Luis Miguel Renjifo36 Malin C. Rivers37

Australian Trout Cod (Maccullochella

Nicolette S. Roach38,39 Lizanne Roxburgh40 Roger J. Safford7 Paul Salaman41

without conservation action. While policy commitments

Tom Squires26 Ella Vázquez-Domínguez42 Piero Visconti43,44
John C.Z. Woinarski20,17 Richard P. Young23 Stuart H.M. Butchart7,45

macquariensis) and Pedder Galaxias

1 School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

have fostered significant conservation achievements,

2 Global Mammal Assessment Program, Department of Biology and Biotechnologies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
3 IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
4 World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF), University of The Philippines Los Baños, Laguna, Philippines
5 Institute for Marine & Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia

future biodiversity action needs to be scaled up to avert (Galaxias pedderensis)

6 Imperial College London, London, UK
7 BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK
8 Zoological Society of London, London, UK
9 CEFE, Univ. Montpellier, CNRS, EPHE, IRD, Univ. Paul Valéry Montpellier 3, Montpellier, France

additional extinctions.
10 Global Species Programme, IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature), Cambridge, UK
11 Grupo de Ecología y Conservación de Islas, A.C., Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico
12 Department of Integrated Sciences, University of Huelva, Huelva, Spain

have likewise improved, from Endangered

13 South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, South Africa
14 Mammal Research Institute, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa
15 The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust, UK
16 School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia

to Vulnerable and Critically Endangered

17 Threatened Species Recovery Hub, National Environmental Science Program, Brisbane, Australia

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the

to Endangered respectively. Decades

original work is properly cited.
© 2020 The Authors. Conservation Letters published by Wiley Periodicals LLC

Conservation Letters. 2021;14:e12762. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/conl 1 of 11

https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12762

of conservation action have focused on

establishing additional subpopulations through
reintroductions and wild-to-wild translocations.

Image credits: Guam Rail (Hypotaenidia owstoni) ©del Hoyo et al

Echo Parakeet (Alexandrinus eques) ©DurrellTrust
Australian Trout Cod (Maccullochella macquariensis) ©Gunther Schmida
Pedder Galaxias (Galaxias pedderensis) © Rudie H. Kuiter / Aquatic Photographics

8 9
Global messaging using Conservation efforts
the IUCN Red List
bring cautious hope
IUCN Red List media releases generated
global interest in the featured species,
The IUCN Red List is also the most
popular IUCN product in media queries,
for African rhinos
while underlining that, in the face of the with significant demand for the kind of Click here
biodiversity crisis, conservation efforts are data and news it provides. This strong
IUCN Red List media release, 2020
working and require more support. Most media presence makes the IUCN Red List
of IUCN’s top releases since 2016, central to shaping IUCN’s external image
measured by quality and quantity of and positioning.
media coverage, have announced IUCN
Red List updates. These have received Species recoveries
coverage across dozens of countries
around the world, in influential media such bring hope amidst the
as the New York Times, BBC, Le Monde,
El País and The Nikkei, and in major news
biodiversity crisis
agencies worldwide. Click here
IUCN Red List media release, 2019

European bison Australia’s reptiles

recovering, 31 species threatened by invasive
declared Extinct species, climate change
Click here Click here
IUCN Red List media release, 2020 IUCN Red List media release, 2018

Almost a third of lemurs Unsustainable fishing

and North Atlantic and hunting for
Right Whale now bushmeat driving iconic
Critically Endangered species to extinction
Click here Click here
IUCN Red List media release, 2020 IUCN Red List media release, 2019

Image credits: European Bison (Galaxias pedderensis) ©Rafal Kowalczyk Image credits: South-Western Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis occidentalis) ©Dave Hamman
Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) ©Zwennie CC BY-SA 2.0 Rainbow Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus deglupta) ©Thomas Caldwell
Water monitor (Varanus salvator) ©Stewart MacDonald
Sclater's guenon (Cercopithecus sclateri) ©Lynne R. Baker

10 11
Through these media releases, IUCN is able to generate global interest in highly threatened
species that would otherwise remain largely unknown, as well as mainstream issues of
Guiding Decision-making to Conserve Species
critical importance such as climate change and unsustainable exploitation of nature.
The IUCN Red List is used to power different A third of the income generated for
digital platforms that influence and guide investment into the three under-lying
Examples: decision-making across sectors. datasets supports activities that maintain
the IUCN Red List.
The IUCN Red List is used by businesses
throughout the process of planning Examples:
and implementing projects, in order to
understand and manage potential impacts • International Olympic Committee:
on biodiversity. It informs screening and The IOC uses IBAT as a key tool during
impact avoidance, baseline survey design, the initial dialogue with cities interested
impact assessment and mitigation, in hosting the Olympic Games.
biodiversity action plan development, and
offset design and implementation.
• International Finance Corporation:
The International Finance Corporation
(IFC), a member of the World Bank
Group, uses IBAT to screen for
biodiversity risks and critical habitat
values in project locations globally as
The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool part of its environmental due diligence.
(IBAT) is a web-based map and reporting
Lord of the Rings toad World’s most expensive fungus tool that provides fast, easy and integrated
access to The IUCN Red List of Threatened Data and metrics derived from the IUCN Red
Species, World Database on Protected Area List were used by a number of the globally
and the World Database of Key Biodiversity recognised online platforms to support
Areas. It provides access to the most decision making by governments, civil
The Amazing Species campaign featured
authoritative global biodiversity datasets, society and the private sector. Red List data
species of interest and raised the profile
and is used by the private sector for early are downloaded, or accessed directly, from
of biodiversity conservation and the IUCN
stage, high-level risk screening. the IUCN Red List website in accordance
Red List. https://www.IUCNredlist.org/
resources/grid with the Terms of Use.
IBAT is used by some of the largest, most
recognised companies in the world – 29 of Global Forest Watch’s map layer
IBAT’s subscribers are considered “large- ‘Global Biodiversity Significance’
cap” companies, with a market capitalization
of over US$10 billion each. IBAT also UN Biodiversity Labs
Photo © Fernando Trujillo
plays a crucial role in the financial sector,
Naturemaps
helping organisations to screen potential
Amazing Species: Tucuxi
investments for biodiversity risks. Global Biodiversity Information Facility
The Tucuxi (Sotalia fluviatilis) is a freshwater dolphin species that lives in the Amazon

Geographical range
River system in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

These small grey dolphins are usually found in small groups of up to around 6 individuals.
IBAT is currently used by 11 Public
They live in the main channels of large and medium sized rivers, but tend to avoid areas
of fast-moving water, as well as flooded forests. Tucuxis prey on a variety of fish species.
Development Banks, who together finance
The number of Tucuxis is declining, with threats including death caused by fishing gear and
habitat degradation due to dams and pollution. Eliminating the use of gillnets – curtains of
over US$330 billion annually of direct
investments across the globe. IBAT currently
fishing net that hang in the water – and reducing the number of dams in Tucuxi habitat are
The IUCN Red List of priorities to enable the population to recover.
Threatened Species™

has 99 commercial users that access the

is made possible through the
Red List Partnership with the
This species is included in international legislation such as the Convention on Migratory
support of the IUCN-Toyota
Red List Partnership.
Species (CMS). There are also conservation action plans underway for the species at both
national and continent-wide levels.

data, tools and reports through subscription

Amazing Species
is sponsored by

iucnredlist.org | 2021

or pay-as-you-go services.

12 13
 Usage of the IUCN Red List website remains very high with users responding well
to the new version launched in 2019 and the many improvements in functionality.
38,822 assessment
data downloads
(average 9,700 per year)

81.5 million page views

The IUCN Red List has (average 20 million per year)

users in every single

country of the world

16.2 million unique visitors

(average 4 million per year)

28 million website
sessions 189,458 individual 190 million species maps
(average 7 million per year) spatial data downloads downloaded
(average 47,364 per year) (average 47.6 million per year)

14 15
Catalysing Conservation Action
IUCN’s Lemur SOS is a good example of
IUCN follows an Assess-Plan-Act approach that uses the IUCN Red List as the basis for
guiding and conducting conservation actions. Assess-Plan-Act:
In July 2012, the Lemur Red-listing and CHF to on-the-ground lemur conservation
Conservation Planning Workshop took projects throughout Madagascar. Over the
Direct conservation action is catalysed place in Madagascar. Twenty-eight priority course of three calls for proposals, IUCN
by the IUCN Red List through: sites were chosen based on the number Save Our Species has been able to provide
of Critically Endangered and Endangered 52 grants to civil society organisations
species present, overall species richness, and in Madagascar. These are providing
• Addition of a species to the IUCN Red • A status review, or conservation plan, whether they included species found only in conservation benefits to 50 lemur species
List in a highly threatened category of the species using the IUCN Red a single location. This led to the IUCN Save and subspecies (from a total of 113 currently
List highlights the actions needed to Our Species Lemurs initiative — a six-year described taxa) and their habitats, as well as
• A species moving from a lower to higher promote recovery programme to provide grants to civil society the people who depend on them. As such,
extinction risk on the IUCN Red List organisations in Madagascar to support the the SOS Lemurs initiative is making direct
• Environmental safeguarding measures conservation of lemurs. Through this initiative, contributions to the implementation of 18
can be triggered by the presence of and thanks to the generous donation of a site-based action plans included in the Lemur
Geneva-based private foundation, IUCN Save Conservation Strategy 2013–2016.
threatened species
Our Species has channelled close to 6 million

The IUCN Red List catalyses conservation. Species extinction would have been greater
without conservation action and many species have undergone dramatic recoveries due to
sustained interventions over time. Successful conservation action and policies need to be
Scaly-footed snail and deep sea biodiversity
scaled-up and expanded to halt the decline of biodiversity and to put nature on the path to A scientific contribution to the journal Nature on deep-ocean ridges in the Indian Ocean,
recovery by 2030 highlighted that ‘Red Listing can protect between 2,400 to 2,800 metres below sea
deep-sea biodiversity’. The Scaly-foot Snail level occupying an area of less than 0.02 km2.
(Chrysomallon squamiferum) was the first The listing of deep-sea species represents
species endemic to deep-sea hydrothermal a first step towards a global assessment for
vents on the IUCN Red List of Threatened these habitats, and towards ensuring that
Species and the first animal to be listed as deep-sea species have a seat at the table in
Endangered due to deep-sea mining. This discussions about managing the ocean floor.
species is only known from three locations Amazing Species.

A New Protected Area Planned for Beetles

All 12 assessed species of Ironclad Beetles The Terceira Island Ironclad Beetle ( Tarphius
( Tarphius spp.) are considered threatened with relictus) has been particularly affected by this
CRITICALLY extinction. These beetles rely on decomposing change and is now limited to a range of less
ENDANGERED wood, mosses and fern cover for survival, but than one hectare. The recent establishment of
CR
the Kahili Ginger (Hedychium gardnerianum), a a protected area by the Azorean Government,
plant introduced from the Himalayas, is slowly based on the draft assessment of the Ironclad
replacing native plant species. Beetle, provides some hope for the future of
this species.

Image credits: Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus berthae) © Russell A. Mittermeier

16 17
Science-based Species The Green Status of Species was approved
by IUCN Council in 2020 as a new
Conservation IUCN Green Status of Species component of the Red List of Threatened
Species. Green Status assessments are
A global standard for measuring species recovery and
assessing conservation impact
Prepared by the IUCN SSC Species Conservation Success Task Force
Version 2.0
the world’s first standardized method
New metrics using the IUCN Red List were This documents the contribution of specific
for assessing species’ progress toward
developed and launched to drive species conservation and restoration actions in
recovery. It recognises that although
recovery efforts and assist all stakeholders specific places by businesses, governments,
preventing extinction is the first critical
in conservation to make science-based civil society, and other actors towards global
step toward successful conservation, it is
contributions to the next inter-governmental goals for halting extinctions. As such STAR
not the end goal. Rather, the true mark of
global biodiversity agreement: helps identify actions that have the potential
success would be to recover species to the
to bring benefits for threatened species, and
IUCN developed a new metric using the point where they can fulfil their ecological
it supports the establishment of science- INTERNATIONAL UNION FOR CONSERVATION OF NATURE

IUCN Red List called the ‘STAR - Species functions throughout their range - resulting
based targets for species biodiversity.
Threat Abatement and Restoration’. in species that are not just surviving, but
More information.
Click here thriving. More information.

Influencing Resource
Allocation
Betts et al. (2019) identified 41 species- The Global Environment Facility’s System
focused funding bodies and found that 66% for Transparent Allocation of Resources
requested that applicants state the IUCN (STAR) used a metric derived from the
Red List status of the focal species (66%). IUCN Red List as part of the formula to
Some examples of these are shown below: determine the amount of GEF resources
that a given country can access in a
• The Rufford Foundation provided replenishment period.
conservation and research grants for
species listed as threatened on the
IUCN Red List

• Mohammed Bin Zahed Species

Conservation Fund generally gives
priority to projects on species facing
a high threat of extinction, with an
emphasis on Critically Endangered
and Endangered species.

• IUCN’s Save Our Species funded

projects that focussed on Critically
Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable
Species

• The Franklinia Foundation supported in

situ conservation projects for trees that
are globally threatened on the IUCN
Red List
18 19
An updated and improved IUCN Red List The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species expanded its coverage of the world’s
biodiversity by 51% between 2017 and 2020
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species expanded 150000 Reporting
period
its coverage of the world’s biodiversity by 51%
120000
between 2017 and 2020.

Total species assessed

90000

The IUCN Red List was expanded and updated. 60000

Previously under-represented groups were added for

the first time and re-assessments of species already 30000

on the IUCN Red List were completed to monitor for

change to extinction risk.

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20

20
01

02

03

04

05

06

07

08

09

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20
Year

Expanding the IUCN Red List

• A further 43,662 species were added to • 15,760 species were re-assessed to
the IUCN Red List during 2017–2020 check for changes in extinction risk
• Major progress towards completing first • Major progress to completing the global
ever global assessments of reptiles, re-assessments of amphibians, birds
freshwater fish, dragonflies and trees. and mammals.
• Unprecedented progress on fungi

Species Reassessed Species Added

Number of species assessed Number of species assessed
100% 100%

Percentage increase in each species group

Percentage increase in each species group

90% 90%

375
80% 80%

70% 70%

19020
60% 60%

50% 50%

40% 40%

2939

9157
30% 30%

2940
2046
3542

2876
20% 20%

5357

5677
700
842

1640
1186

390
668
10% 10%

46
1
0 0
Bi

Re

Fi

In

Pl

Pl

Fu

Bi

Re

Fi

In

Pl

Pl

Fu
Am

Am
sh

sh
ve

ve
an

an

an

an
am

am
rd

rd
ng

ng
pt

pt
ph

ph
r te

r te
s

s
ts

ts

ts

ts
ile

ile
i

i
m

m
ib

ib
br

-O

-T

br

-O

-T
s

s
al

al
ia

ia
s

s
at

at
re

re
ns

ns
th

th
es

es
es

es
er

er
20 21
New Entries on the IUCN Red List

Fan Mussel Giant Pseudoscorpion

Pinna nobilis Garypus titanius
This marine mollusc has entered the Red The world’s largest pseudoscorpion
List as Critically Endangered. A newly has entered the Red List as Critically
discovered pathogen, (Haplosporidium Endangered. Reaching 1.5cm, this giant
pinnae), is causing dramatic declines in the mini-beast related to scorpions lives on
population throughout the Mediterranean a 5-hectare islet off the UK Overseas
Sea where it is endemic. Causing the deaths Territory of Ascension Island. The Giant
of 80 to 100% of affected Fan Mussels, this Pseudoscorpion is under threat due to
amounts to a mass mortality event. invasive predatory invertebrates, such
as the American Cockroach (Periplaneta
americana). Control and management of
these invasive predators is the key to its
Barbie Pagoda
long-term survival.
Podoserpula miranda
This rare and unusual New Caledonia
fungus entered the Red List as Critically
Endangered. Clearance of its forest
habitat and habitat degradation caused by Kalimantan Mango
introduced pigs, feral cattle and horses are
Mangifera casturi
its main threats.
Four wild mangos were listed as
Endangered, and the Kalimantan mango
(Mangifera casturi) was listed as Extinct in
the Wild. These species are relatives of the
common mango (Mangifera indica) and
Eucalyptus trees
are threatened by habitat loss. Native to
All known eucalypt species worldwide have South Asia, mangoes are now cultivated
been assessed, revealing that almost 25% in many tropical and subtropical countries
are threatened with extinction. and they are one of the most commercially
important fruits in these regions.

Image credits: Fan Mussel (Pinna nobilis) ©Diego Kersting Image credits: Giant Pseudoscorpion (Garypus titanius) ©Nicola Webber
Barbie Pagoda (Podoserpula miranda) ©Christian Laudereau Kalimantan Mango (Mangifera casturi) ©TopTropicals
Eucalyptus tree (Eucalyptus globulus) ©Ethel Aardvark

22 23
Species that are recovering Species that are declining

Kinabalu Slender Litter Frog Madagascar's lemurs

Leptobrachella arayai with 103 of the 107 surviving species
This amphibian moved from Vulnerable to threatened with extinction, mainly due to
Least Concern in 2018. It is known from deforestation and hunting in Madagascar
Kinabalu National Park and Crocker Range
National Park (Trus Madi) in Malaysia. In
2004, the major threat to this species was
rapid logging of sub-montane forests for
timber. However, industrial logging activities
at Trus Madi have nearly ceased and are not
occurring at elevations where this species
occurs. Both of the national parks are well
protected and well-managed, and Trus Madi
is a High Conservation Value Forest.

Okarito Kiwi The Irrawaddy Dolphin

Apteryx rowi Orcaella brevirostris
Intensive predator control on small New and Narrow-ridged Finless Porpoise
Zealand islands led to the re-categorisation Neophocaena asiaeorientalis
of the Okarito Kiwi (Apteryx rowi) and the have both declined, moving from the
Northern Brown Kiwi (Apteryx mantelli) from Vulnerable to the Endangered category.
Endangered to Vulnerable. Both species Numbers more than halved over the past 60
of Kiwi have been facing threats including years for the Irrawaddy Dolphin, and over the
habitat loss and predation by introduced past 45 years for the Finless Porpoise.
mammals, such as stoats and feral cats.
Government and community conservation
efforts have focused on predator control,
and removing and incubating eggs for
release into the wild.

Image credits: Kinabalu Slender Litter Frog (Leptobrachella arayai) ©Andreas & Christel Nöllert, Jena Image credits: Golden Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur aureus) ©Nick Garbutt
Okarito Kiwi (Apteryx rowi) ©Grant Maslowski The Irrawaddy Dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris) ©Isabel Beasley

24 25
IUCN Red List at Regional and National Levels IUCN Red List assessments at
national and regional levels can be
provided in two ways:

• Application of the IUCN Red List • Application of the IUCN Red List
Categories and Criteria for global Categories and Criteria at the
assessments summarised at the national or regional levels
national or regional level

Regional IUCN Red List Assessments

European Red List European Red List of

of saproxylic beetles terrestrial molluscs:
EuropEan rEd List of
saproxyLic BEEtLEs
(2018). Saproxylic beetles EUROPEAN RED LIST OF
TERRESTRIAL MOLLUSCS:
SNAILS, SLUGS, AND SEMI-SLUGS
snails, slugs, and semi-
are insects that depend slugs (2019). Overall,
on dead and decaying 21.8% and 22.5% of the
wood for at least part of 2,469 native species of
their lifecycle, and play terrestrial mollusc are
important ecological roles considered threatened
in European habitats.

A miniature world in European Red List

A miniature world European Red List of
in decline
European Red List of Mosses,
decline : European Lycopods and Ferns of lycopods and
Liverworts and Hornworts
Red List of mosses, ferns (2017). With 194
Mariana García Criado, Henry Väre, Ana Nieto, Rui Bento Elias, Robert Dyer, Yury Ivanenko,
Daniella Ivanova, Richard Lansdown, José Antonio Molina, Germinal Rouhan, Fred Rumsey,
Angelo Troia, Jan Vrba and Maarten J. M. Christenhusz
Nick Hodgetts, Marta Cálix, Eve Englefield, Nicholas Fettes, Mariana García Criado, Lea Patin, Ana Nieto, Ariel Bergamini, Irene
Bisang, Elvira Baisheva, Patrizia Campisi, Annalena Cogoni, Tomas Hallingbäck, Nadya Konstantinova, Neil Lockhart, Marko
Sabovljevic, Norbert Schnyder, Christian Schröck, Cecilia Sérgio, Manuela Sim Sim, Jan Vrba, Catarina C. Ferreira, Olga Afonina,

liverworts and species assessed, this

Tom Blockeel, Hans Blom, Steffen Caspari, Rosalina Gabriel, César Garcia, Ricardo Garilleti, Juana González Mancebo, Irina
Goldberg, Lars Hedenäs, David Holyoak, Vincent Hugonnot, Sanna Huttunen, Mikhail Ignatov, Elena Ignatova, Marta Infante, Riikka
Juutinen, Thomas Kiebacher, Heribert Köckinger, Jan Kučera, Niklas Lönnell, Michael Lüth, Anabela Martins, Oleg Maslovsky,
Beáta Papp, Ron Porley, Gordon Rothero, Lars Söderström, Sorin Ştefǎnuţ, Kimmo Syrjänen, Alain Untereiner, Jiri Váňa Ɨ, Alain
Vanderpoorten, Kai Vellak, Michele Aleffi, Jeff Bates, Neil Bell, Monserrat Brugués, Nils Cronberg, Jo Denyer, Jeff Duckett, H.J.
During, Johannes Enroth, Vladimir Fedosov, Kjell-Ivar Flatberg, Anna Ganeva, Piotr Gorski, Urban Gunnarsson, Kristian Hassel,
Helena Hespanhol, Mark Hill, Rory Hodd, Kristofer Hylander, Nele Ingerpuu, Sanna Laaka-Lindberg, Francisco Lara, Vicente

hornworts (2019). This assessment highlights

Mazimpaka, Anna Mežaka, Frank Müller, Jose David Orgaz, Jairo Patiño, Sharon Pilkington, Felisa Puche, Rosa M. Ros, Fred
Rumsey, J.G. Segarra-Moragues, Ana Seneca, Adam Stebel, Risto Virtanen, Henrik Weibull, Jo Wilbraham and Jan Żarnowiec

publication is a summary that 19.9% of lycopod

of the conservation status and fern species are
of the European species threatened with extinction
of mosses, liverworts and in Europe.
hornworts, collectively
known as bryophytes.

European Red List The conservation status

European Red List
of Trees of trees (2019) this of marine biodiversity
publication summarises of the Western Indian
Malin Rivers, Emily Beech, Ioannis Bazos, Faruk Bogunić, Antoni Buira, Danka Caković, André Carapeto,
Angelino Carta, Bruno Cornier, Giuseppe Fenu, Francisco Fernandes, Pere Fraga i Arguimbau, Pablo
Garcia-Murillo, Martin Lepší, Vlado Matevski, Félix Medina, Miguel Menezes de Sequeira, Norbert Meyer,
THE CONSERVATION STATUS OF MARINE
Vlastimil Mikoláš, Chiara Montagnani, Tiago Monteiro-Henriques, José Naranjo-Suárez, Simone Orsenigo,
Antoaneta Petrova, Alfredo Reyes-Betancort, Tim Rich, Per Harald Salvesen, Isabel Santana-López,
BIODIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN INDIAN
Stephan Scholz, Alexander Sennikov, Lulëzim Shuka, Luís Filipe Silva, Philip Thomas, Angelo Troia,
OCEAN
results for all Europe’s Ocean (2021).
José Luis Villar, and David Allen
R. Bullock, G. Ralph, E. Stump, F. Al Abdali, J. Al Asfoor, B. Al Buwaiqi, A. Al Kindi, A. Ambuali,
T. Birge, P. Borsa, F. Di Dario, B. Everett, S. Fennessy, C. Fonseca, C. Gorman, A. Govender,
H. Ho, W. Holleman, N. Jiddawi, M. Khan, H. Larson, C. Linardich, P. Matiku, K. Matsuura,
C. Maunde, H. Motomura, T. Munroe, R. Nair, C. Obota, B. Polidoro, B. Russell, S. Shaheen,

native species of tree (454

Y. Sithole, W. Smith-Vaniz, F. Uiblein, S. Weerts, A. Williams, S. Yahya, K. Carpenter

INDIAN OCEAN
species), of which 265

WESTERN
species (over 58%) are
endemic to continental
Europe, with 56% (252
species) endemic to the The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM - Regional Assessment

28 EU Member States.

26 27
 Regional IUCN Red List Assessments

The status and Conservation priorities

distribution of for freshwater
CONSERVATION PRIORITIES FOR
freshwater biodiversity biodiversity in the Lake

FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY IN THE LAKE MALAWI/NYASA/NIASSA CATCHMENT

FRESHWATER BIODIVERSITY IN THE
LAKE MALAWI/NYASA/NIASSA
CATCHMENT

in Madagascar and the Edited by Catherine A. Sayer, Amy F. Palmer-Newton and William R.T. Darwall
Malawi/Nyasa/Niassa
Indian Ocean islands catchment (2019)

NYASA/NIASSA
LAKE MALAWI/
hotspot (2018)

CATCHMENT
The global
assessment report on
BIODIVERSITY
AND ECOSYSTEM
SERVICES
SUMMARY FOR POLICYMAKERS IUCN
Rue Mauverney 28
CH-1196 Gland
Switzerland
Tel: + 41 22 999 0000
Fax: + 41 22 999 0015
www.iucn.org/redlist
The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM
www.iucnredlist.org Sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, Intermap, increment P Corp., GEBCO, USGS, FAO, NPS, NRCAN,
GeoBase, IGN, Kadaster NL, Ordnance Survey, Esri Japan, METI, Esri China (Hong Kong), (c)
OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community

Government of Malawi

Freshwater biodiversity The status and

in the Lake Victoria distribution of
Basin : guidance for
the statUs aNd dIstrIBUtION OF
freshwater fishes
the statUs aNd dIstrIBUtION OF Freshwater BIOdIversIty IN MadagasCar aNd the INdIaN OCeaN IslaNds hOtspOt

Freshwater BIOdIversIty IN MadagasCar The status and distribution of

aNd the INdIaN OCeaN IslaNds hOtspOt freshwater fishes in Mexico

species conservation, in Mexico (2020)

Edited by Timothy Lyons, Laura Máiz-Tomé, Marcelo Tognelli, Adam Daniels,
Edited by Laura Máiz-Tomé, Catherine Sayer and William Darwall Clayton Meredith, Robert Bullock and Ian Harrison
IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, Global Species Programme IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit, Global Species Programme and the ABQ BioPark

site protection,
OCeaN IslaNds
aNd the INdIaN

MEXICO
MadagasCar

climate resilience and

sustainable livelihoods
(2018) Mexico baselayer

IUCN Report
the IUCN red list of threatened speciestM The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM

Use of the IUCN Red List at the national and regional level was further enhanced
during 2017–2020 by the inclusion of new functionality on the IUCN Red List website to
accommodate other languages (French, Spanish and Japanese) and a translation facility
(Google Translate).
The IUCN Red List website, from 2020, provides Red List Index graphs and data for 253
individual countries and 31 regions or subnational divisions.

LEAST
CONCERN
LC

Image credits: White-barred Boxfish (Anoplocapros lenticularis) © CaitlinChilds

28 29
New IUCN Red List website The IUCN Red List website is a digital platform of critical importance for species
conservation. It is linked to the IUCN Species Information Service database (SIS) which
holds all of the IUCN Red List data and information. A new IUCN Red List was launched in
November 2018 which featured a number of new tools and functions. Major improvements
to SIS were also completed during 2017–2020.

Key features of the IUCN Red • Advanced search through user selected
List website and SIS which were filters and map with results displayed as
delivered, or significantly improved, Graphs or List or Grid
during the reporting period: • Interactive automated statistics tables
available for decision-makers, which
• Completely new website with
links to download options.
updated guidelines and statistics
• Improved Application Programming
• Fully updated Resources and
Interface (API): software intermediary
Publications section
that allows external users to directly
• Improved data download section, access the IUCN Red List
including multiple download types
• Red List Index graphs and data for
as well as options for accessing >
countries, Sustainable Development
110,000 species range maps for non-
Goals, and thematic groups of species
commercial use
(e.g. freshwater, migratory
• Pages available in Spanish, French
• SIS Connect: a mechanism that
and Japanese, as well as embedded
enables the submission of multiple
translate function for species
species assessments from external
assessment pages
data systems
• The data can be filtered in numerous
• SIS: new Red List index module for
ways, and results presented interactively
collecting and storing such information
in a clean and fast manner for the user.
https://www.IUCNredlist.org/resources/
sis-updates
30 31
Scientifically strong IUCN Red List
Bachman et al. Bird et al.
Scientific studies by Red List Partners and other
Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e47018
doi: 10.3897/BDJ.8.e47018

Software Description
(2020). Rapid least (2020) Generation
Rapid Least Concern: towards automating Red List
assessments
concern: Towards lengths of the
scientists were used to strengthen the methods Steven Bachman‡, Barnaby Eliot Walker‡, Sara Barrios‡, Alison Copeland§, Justin Moat‡
‡ Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London, United Kingdom
§ Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Government of Bermuda, Hamilton, Bermuda

Corresponding author: Steven Bachman ([email protected])

automating red world’s birds and
list assessments. their implications
Academic editor: Pedro Cardoso

that underpin the IUCN Red List. These scientific

Received: 02 Oct 2019 | Accepted: 18 Nov 2019 | Published: 23 Jan 2020

Citation: Bachman S, Walker BE, Barrios S, Copeland A, Moat J (2020) Rapid Least Concern: towards
automating Red List assessments. Biodiversity Data Journal 8: e47018. https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.8.e47018

Abstract

Background
Biodiversity Data for extinction risk.
advances are essential to securing the trusted Journal, 8(1), Conserv. Biol.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM (hereafter the Red List) is an important global
resource for conservation that supports conservation planning, safeguarding critical habitat
and monitoring biodiversity change (Rodrigues et al. 2006). However, a major shortcoming
of the Red List is that most of the world's described species have not yet been assessed

doi.org/10.1111/
and published on the Red List (Bachman et al. 2019Eisenhauer et al. 2019). Conservation
efforts can be better supported if the Red List is expanded to achieve greater coverage of
mega-diverse groups of organisms such as plants, fungi and invertebrates. There is,

reputation of the Red List as well as for developing

therefore, an urgent need to speed up the Red List assessment and documentation
workflow.

cobi.13486
One reason for this lack of species coverage is that a manual and relatively time-
consuming procedure is usually employed to assess and document species. A recent
update of Red List documentation standards (IUCN 2013) reduced the data requirements
for publishing non-threatened or 'Least Concern' species on the Red List. The majority of
the required fields for Least Concern plant species can be found in existing open-access
data sources or can be easily calculated. There is an opportunity to consolidate these data

new and improved methods. Four examples of

and analyses into a simple application to fast-track the publication of Least Concern

© Bachman S et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC
BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are
credited.

the 21 peer-reviewed publications on Red List

methodology are shown here:
Trends in Ecology & Evolution Brooks et al. Akcakaya et al.
Opinion
Measuring Terrestrial Area of Habitat (AOH) and
Its Utility for the IUCN Red List
(2019) Measuring (2017) Inferring
Area of Habitat extinctions III:
Thomas M. Brooks,1,2,3,* Stuart L. Pimm,4 H. Resit Akçakaya,5 Graeme M. Buchanan,6 Stuart H.M. Butchart,7,8
Wendy Foden,9,10,11 Craig Hilton-Taylor,12 Michael Hoffmann,13 Clinton N. Jenkins,14 Lucas Joppa,15
Binbin V. Li,4,16 Vivek Menon,17 Natalia Ocampo-Peñuela,18 and Carlo Rondinini19

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species includes Highlights

(AOH) and its utility A cost-benefit

assessment of extinction risk for 98 512 species, plus documentation of their range, habitat, The IUCN Red List of Threatened
elevation, and other factors. These range, habitat and elevation data can be matched with terres- Species assesses the extinction risk
trial land cover and elevation datasets to map the species’ area of habitat (AOH; also known as of nearly 100 000 species, including
extent of suitable habitat; ESH). This differs from the two spatial metrics used for assessing extinc- documentation of a range map,
tion risk in the IUCN Red List criteria: extent of occurrence (EOO) and area of occupancy (AOO). habitat, and elevation data for each
AOH can guide conservation, for example, through targeting areas for field surveys, assessing species.
proportions of species’ habitat within protected areas, and monitoring habitat loss and fragmen-
Numerous recent studies have

for the IUCN Red framework for

tation. We recommend that IUCN Red List assessments document AOH wherever practical. matched these habitat and eleva-
tion data with remotely sensed land
Rigour and Dynamism in the IUCN Red List cover and elevation datasets to
map AOH (also known as extent of
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species [1] aspires to assess the extinction risk of the world’s spe-
suitable habitat) within the range of
cies, and to serve as a ‘barometer of life’ of the state of nature [2]. Of the approximately 2 million
each species.
named species [3], the IUCN Red List has assessed 98 512 species (having increased from fewer
than 20 000 in 2002i). The process of assessment classifies species in different categories of extinction AOH differs from the two spatial

List. Trends Ecol. listing extinct

risk. It does so through an open, rigorously defined process [4] that is objective and transparent. Pe- metrics used in the IUCN Red List
titioners can challenge decisions made by Red List Authorities. An important use of the IUCN Red List criteria for extinction risk assess-
is the assessment of changes in species extinction risk to monitor changes in the status of individual ment: EOO (minimum convex
species, classes and other groups of species, and species-level biodiversity overall [5,6]. These are polygon around all present native
occurrences of a species); and AOO
essential, for example, in reporting on the Aichi Targets [7] and Sustainable Development Goals
(area actually occupied by a
[8], as well as progress in conserving species [9].
species).

Evol. 34: 977-986 species. Biological

The need for rigour and consensus in assessing extinction risk can potentially bring the process into AOH can be of value in locating
conflict with those who seek to harness rapidly expanding geographic databases and remote sensing target areas for species-specific
technologies to assess species’ status [10–12]. Numerous publications have illustrated how increas- field surveys, assessing the pro-
ingly sophisticated and high-resolution regional and global remote sensing and spatial datasets or portion of a species’ habitat within
models can inform the existing Red List criteria [13,14]. The many-fold growth in the availability of protected areas, and monitoring
habitat loss and fragmentation.
these data over the last decade, coupled with increasing computing power to process them, has al-
lowed the development of methods for estimation of the Area of Habitat (AOH, see Glossary and
Supplemental Information) remaining for terrestrial species. It is therefore timely to review,

Conservation.
1IUCN, 28 rue Mauverney, CH-1196,
standardise, and stabilise how AOH is measured, how it relates to the Red List criteria, and sources Gland, Switzerland
of error in its derivation. Specifically, we show here that AOH is equivalent to neither extent of occur- 2World Agroforestry Center (ICRAF),

rence (EOO) nor to area of occupancy (AOO). Rather, the area of the minimum convex polygon University of the Philippines Los Baños,
around a species’ AOH can be used to estimate the upper bound of EOO. Moreover, if a species’ Laguna, 4031, Philippines
3Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies,
AOH is measured at (or scaled to) a 2 3 2 km reference scale it can be used to estimate the upper
University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001,
bound of AOO. We conclude by highlighting the relevance of measurement of terrestrial species’ Australia
area of habitat in guiding conservation, for example through targeting areas for field surveys, assess- 4Nicholas School of the Environment,

214: 336-342
ing proportions of species’ habitat within protected areas, monitoring habitat loss and fragmenta- Duke University, Box 90328, Durham, NC
tion, and increasing consistency between Red List assessments. 27708, USA
5Department of Ecology and Evolution,

Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY

11794, USA
Assessment of Extinction Risk, and Its Relationship to AOH
6RSPB Centre for Conservation Science,
Five different criteria are used to assess a species’ extinction risk [15]. In practice, for many terrestrial Royal Society for the Protection of Birds,
species [16], the key criterion (the B criterion) is the size of its geographical distribution plus evidence Edinburgh EH12 9DH, UK

Trends in Ecology & Evolution, November 2019, Vol. 34, No. 11 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.06.009 977
ª 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).

32 33
An updated and improved IUCN Red List Online Red List Training
IUCN strives to provide top-quality training, guidance IUCN provides free, self-paced training
through the online IUCN Red List course
and support to the network of global, regional and (www.conservationtraining.org), delivering
national Red List experts. Red List knowledge and skills
to current and future generations of Red
List experts. In 2020, the online course was
rewritten and updated to improve content
and performance, including the addition
of a new Mapping Standards module.

Number of people successfully completing Online IUCN Red List exam passes
course modules and final exam (2017–2020): 500

450
• Global Red List course: 1,464
400

• Regional & national Red List course: 350

1,323 300

• Final exam passes: 1,102 (average 23 250

per month) 200

150

100

50

0
2017 2018 2019 2020

Red List Trainers Certified Red List Trainers (2020)

To accommodate the global demand for
Red List training, IUCN developed a Red List IUCN Global Species
Trainer course. Between 2017 and 2020, five 6 Programme
IUCN Regional &
Red List Trainer courses were held resulting 15
Country offices
in 42 newly certified trainers entering the IUCN SSC members
27 10
IUCN Red List Trainer network.
Red List Partners
<1
29 IUCN SSC - Zoo &
Aquaria Partners
Other

34 35
Red List Training
Workshops
The network of certified IUCN Red List Throughout 2017–2020, 48 certified Red List
Trainers works hard to provide Red List Trainers provided 120 training workshops
training wherever this is needed. Training and events (98 in-person, 22 online):
workshops give participants direct access to
Red List experts who can answer their • 46 full Red List Training workshops (3-4
questions and help them develop the skills days).
to produce high-quality Red List
• 35 short Red List Training workshops
assessments.
(1-2 days).
Wherever possible, training workshops are
• 39 Red List sessions (<1 day events
held in-person. In 2020, IUCN modified the
attached to other meetings and
Red List Training Workshop curriculum to
workshops).
allow Red List Trainers to facilitate training
workshops online. • Over 2,700 people from 61 countries
participated.

LEAST
CONCERN
LC

Image credits: Sydney Red Gum (Angophora costata) © Mayu Kataoka

36 37
The IUCN Red List partnership During the period 2017–2020 IUCN
welcomed three new institutions to the
The IUCN Red List:
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is made IUCN Red List partnership: Oversight and financing
• Re:wild
possible through the active participation of the Red IUCN is the custodian of the The IUCN Red
List of Threatened Species and convenes
• Missouri Botanical Garden
List Partners and their respective networks. As a • ABQ Biopark
the Red List Partnership to advance the
development, maintenance, promotion and
result, the IUCN Red List represents an enormous use of the IUCN Red List. The partnership
Each of the 13 Red List Partners committed is convened by the Director General of
investment of time, expertise and financial resources significant institutional resources to IUCN and the Chair of the IUCN SSC and
by a large number of individuals and organizations. implementing the IUCN Red List Strategic
Plan, totalling $13.8 million. The major
oversight is provided through the IUCN Red
List Committee which has representation
progress reported above in terms of from all partners.
expanding and updating the IUCN Red The IUCN Red List is funded by institutional
The Red List Partnership also serves as an List, as well as the examples of impact,
could not have been achieved without this
resources from each of the IUCN Red List
Partners. Strategic targets are agreed by
important means for the partners to coordinate collaborative, committed effort by IUCN the the partnership and are integrated into
Red List Partners.
activities related to biodiversity assessment and Red List Partners contributed mainly to
IUCN’s higher level objectives (e.g. IUCN
Programme 2017–2020) and the partners’
analysis, and to share information, expertise assessing and reassessing species on the own institutional plans. All partners raise
IUCN Red List. Important contributions by funds to support the delivery of their
and insights in ways that enable the partners to the partnership were also made to maintain institutional commitments to the IUCN
Red List. In 2017–2020 a joint fundraising
achieve their own strategic goals for science-based the scientific credibility of the IUCN Red
List, with 99 peer-reviewed publications approach was piloted. IUCN receives an
biodiversity conservation. published 2017–2020. annual contribution ($80–175k) from the
licensed use of Red data for commercial
purposes by the Integrated Biodiversity
24 guiding policy and action Assessment Tool which is used to support
the implementation of the IUCN Red List
22 highlighting extinction crisis Strategic Plan. Across the partnership, IUCN
estimates that a minimum of $5.4 million is
19 improving methods required annually for the IUCN Red List to
deliver its full potential to society.
30 advancing knowledge of species

4 other

38 39
Acknowledgments
IUCN is grateful to its donors for supporting the IUCN Red List, including Toyota Motor
Corporation (through the IUCN Toyota Red List Partnership), the Environment Agency -
Abu Dhabi, The Rufford Foundation and the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool.
IUCN is also grateful to every single member of its Species Survival Commission who
assisted in delivering the IUCN Red List during 2017-2021.
IUCN is also extremely grateful to the Red List Partners for continued institutional
commitment to producing the IUCN Red List.

VULNERABLE
VU

Image credits: Splendid Waxcap (Hygrocybe splendidissima) © John Bjarne Jordal

40 41
Donate:
The IUCN Red List depends on donations
and long-term partnerships to continue
its important work assessing and
reassessing the conservation status
of the world’s species.

Contact

Find out how you can work with us to The IUCN Red List of Threatened SpeciesTM is
create a more complete Barometer of Life: produced by the Red List Partnership, currently:
ABQ BioPark, Arizona State University, BirdLife
IUCNredlist.org/support/donate International, Botanic Gardens Conservation
International, Conservation International, International
[email protected]
Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Missouri
Botanical Gardens, NatureServe, Re:Wild, Royal
Botanic Gardens Kew, Sapienza University of Rome,
IUCN Species Survival Commission, Texas A & M
University and Zoological Society of London.

42