IUCN Red List

• Founded in 1964
• It is the largest and most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species
• According to IUCN (1996), the stated goals of the Red List are to
1. Provide science based information on status of species and subspecies at a global level
2. Draw attention to the magnitude and importance of threatened biodiversity
3. Influence national and international policy and decision-making
4. Provide information to guide actions to conserve biological diversity
• Species are classified by the IUCN Red List into nine groups on criteria such as:
1. Rate of decline
2. Population size
3. Area of geographic distribution
4. Degree of population and distribution fragmentation.
• 9 groups are:
  

1. Extinct (EX) – No known individuals remaining.
2. Extinct in the wild (EW) – Known only to survive in captivity, or as a naturalised population outside its historic range.
3. Critically endangered (CR) – Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
4. Endangered (EN) – High risk of extinction in the wild.
5. Vulnerable (VU) – High risk of endangerment in the wild.
6. Near threatened (NT) – Likely to become endangered in the near future.
7. Least concern (LC) – Lowest risk. Does not qualify for a more at risk category. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.
8. Data deficient (DD) – Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.
9. Not evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.
• When discussing the IUCN Red List, the official term "threatened" is a grouping of three categories (See above Image)