IUCN Red List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data List), founded in 1964, is the world’s most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s main authority on the conservation status of species.

As per the latest information from the IUCN Red List 2019:

41% of the amphibians are threatened

33% fo the coral-reefs are in the threatened category

A series of Regional Red Lists are produced by countries or organizations, which assess the risk of extinction to species within a political management unit. The IUCN Red List is based upon precise criteria to evaluate the rate of extinction of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world.

The IUCN red list provides taxonomic data, conservation status, and distribution information on species that are facing a high risk of global extinction.

Objectives of IUCN

The International Union for Conservation of Nature works to achieve the following goals:

To provide scientific data on the status of species and subspecies at a global level.

To address the factors of concern and spread awareness regarding the species and biodiversity extinction.

To plan a layout for the conservation of biodiversity.

IUCN Red List Users

The IUCN Red List provides accurate data on the status of different species on the Earth.  This information is used by various departments, institutes, and organizations.

The users of the IUCN Red List are given below:

Government agencies (National & International)

Wildlife organizations and departments

Conservation-related NGOs

Natural resource planners

Educational organizations

Zoos and aquariums

Media

Business communities

Purpose of the IUCN Red List Data

The information cited in the IUCN Red List is used by various organizations in the following ways:

International Agreements such as CITES, Ramsar Convention use the Red List data to make important decisions in sync with the status of nature as and when required.

World Bank Group performance standard uses the IUCN Red List data to evaluate the risk of damage to biodiversity due to large-scale infrastructures and global projects.

Zoos and National parks use this information to upgrade important policies like parks regulations from time to time.