IUCN:Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental organisation. It was founded in 1948. Its headquarters are located in Gland, near Geneva, in Switzerland. IUCN has more than 1,200 member organizations including 200+ government and 900+ non-government organizations.
More about IUCN
Governance by a Council elected by member organizations every four years at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
Funded by governments, bilateral and multilateral agencies, foundations, member organisations and corporations.
Official Observer Status at the United Nations General Assembly.
What are the functions of IUCN?
The main motto of IUCN is to conserve biodiversity and all threatened species . The main areas of function are:
1. The IUCN prepares Red List of Threatened Species.
2. The IUCN conserve threatened species by starting projects all over the world.
3. It works with the collective strength of more than 1,200 government and non-governmental Member organizations.
How does IUCN work?
The work is framed by a Global Programme, developed with and approved by IUCN member organisations every four years. The current programme runs from 2012 to 2016. IUCN’s Global Programme is coordinated by IUCN’s Secretariat and delivered in conjunction with IUCN member organisations, Commissions and IUCN’s theme-based programmes.
Threatened Species classification
Threatened species are any species which are vulnerable to extinction in the near future. International Union for Conservation of Nature treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories: vulnerable, endangered, and critically endangered, depending on the degree to which they are threatened.
1.Critically Endangered Species - Critically Endangered (Cr) is the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN for wild species. Critically endangered species means a species numbers have decreased, or will decrease by 80% within three generations. It is therefore considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
2. Endangered (EN) species - Endangered (EN) species is a population of organisms which is at risk of becoming extinct because it is either few in numbers, or threatened by changing environmental or predation parameters. Also it could mean that due to deforestation there may be a lack of food and/or water. It is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
3. Vulnerable (VU) species - Vulnerable (VU) species is a species which has been categorised by the IUCN as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. It is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
4. Extinct - A species becomes extinct when the last existing member of that species dies. Extinction therefore becomes a certainty when there are no surviving individuals that are able to reproduce and create a new generation.
5. Functionally Extinct -A species may become functionally extinct when only a handful of individuals survive, which are unable to reproduce due to poor health, age, sparse distribution over a large range, a lack of individuals of both sexes (in sexually reproducing species), or other reasons.
An important aspect of extinction at the present time is human attempts to preserve critically endangered species, which is reflected by the creation of the conservation status “Extinct in the Wild” (EW). Species listed under this status by IUCN are not known to have any living specimens in the wild, and are maintained only in zoos or other artificial environments. Some of these species are functionally extinct; as they are no longer part of their natural habitat and it is unlikely the species will ever be restored to the wild.
Reasons for species extinction
The reasons for extinction may be natural or manmade. Through evolution, new species arise through the process of speciation and species become extinct when they are no longer able to survive in changing conditions or against superior competition. A typical species becomes extinct within 10 million years (1 crore year) of its first appearance although some species, called living fossils, survive virtually unchanged for hundreds of millions of years. Extinction, though, is usually a natural phenomenon; it is estimated that 99.9% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct.
Various anthropogenic (huntihg) activities causing extinction are manmade reasons. Only recently scientists have become alarmed at the high rates of recent extinctions due to various anthropogenic activities. Some of these anthropogenic activities include intentional or accidental introduction of invasive alien species, over exploitation and unscientific collection of Non-Timber Forest Produce (NTFPs) including medicinal plant, climate change, unsustainable tourism, habitat destruction, encroachment etc.
List of Plants and Animals
Of the total 63,837 species globally assessed plants and animals, the IUCN classified the numbers as below in 2012.
i) 81 Extinct.
ii) 63 Extinct in the Wild.
iii) 3,947 Critically Endangered.
iv) 5766 Endangered.
v) 10,104 Vulnerable.
vi) 4,467 Threatened.
vii) 10,497 Data Deficient.
List of Extinct Plants in India
Extinct plants are enlisted in Red Data book of Botanical Survey of India. As per the Red Data book of Botanical Survey of India (BSI), 17 plants have been recorded as extinct. However, during recent exploration by BSI in some of the previously unexplored areas, numbers of such reported extinct species of plants have been rediscovered.
IUCN Updates:-
1 A silverback mountain gorilla eating in the Volcanoes national park, Rwanda. Four out of six great ape species are now classified as critically endangered – only one step away from going extinct – with the remaining two also under considerable threat of extinction, according to the IUCN.
2 The world’s largest living primate, the eastern lowland gorilla, has been classified as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). It has suffered a devastating population decline of more than 70% in 20 years. Here, one of the few remaining adult male silverbacks is seen sitting in forest undergrowth in the Kivu region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.
3 Bonobo apes, a primate unique to Congo and humankind’s closest relative, rest at a sanctuary just outside the capital Kinshasa. Scientifically named Pan paniscus, but more commonly known as pygmy chimpanzees, bonobos share 98.4% of their genetic make-up with humans, but are at risk of extinction due to more than a decade of conflict in Central Africa.
4 The once widespread and abundant plains zebra has been moved from ‘least concern’ to ‘near threatened’ on the IUCN’s ‘red list’ of endangered species. The population has reduced by 24% in the past 14 years from around 660,000 to a current estimate of just over 500,000 animals. In many countries plains zebra are only found in protected areas, yet population reductions have been recorded in 10 out of the 17 range states since 1992. The plains zebra is threatened by hunters seeking bushmeat and skins.
5 Three species of antelope found in Africa – bay duiker, white-bellied duiker and yellow-backed duiker – have moved from ‘least concern’ to ‘near threatened’ on the IUCN’s red list of endangered species. This male bay duiker lives at the Ellen Trout zoo in Lufkin, Texas, USA.
6 Invasive species such as pigs, goats, rats, slugs, and non-native plants are destroying the native flora in Hawaii. The latest results show that of the 415 endemic Hawaiian plant species assessed so far for the IUCN red list (out of 1,093 endemic plant species), 87% are threatened with extinction.
7 The critically endangered flowering Haha plant is one of the 105 extremely rare Hawaiian plant species on the IUCN red list with less than 50 mature individuals remaining.
8 This update of the global red list bring some good news. Previously listed as endangered, the giant panda is now listed as vulnerable, as its population has grown due to effective forest protection and reforestation. This wild giant panda was photographed near the Yueba township, Shaanxi province, China.
9 A Tibetan antelope in north-west China’s Qinghai province. Over the past decade, efforts have been devoted to rehabilitate the fragile eco-system of Sanjiangyuan and the ecological degrading has been basically curbed which has been reclassified as ‘near threatened’.
10 The greater stick-nest rat which has been reclassified as ‘near threatened’, it was previously placed in the more serious category of ‘vulnerable species’. It builds nests that can be a meter high and more than one metre in diameter.