12,000 species face extinction theat: report

The number of threatened species has topped 12,000, after 2,000 more species were added to the world conservation monitoring organisation's endangered list published today.

Over the past year, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the worldwide inventory of the conservation status of plants and animals, also recorded 762 plant and animal species as extinct with a further 58 known only in cultivation or captivity.

Since the release of the 2002 Red List, more than 2,000 new entries have been added and 380 taxa (species, subspecies, etc.) reassessed. The IUCN Red List now includes 12,259 species threatened with extinction (falling into the Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable categories).

“More than 12,000 species are known to be threatened with extinction. While we are still only scratching the surface in assessing all known species, we are confident this figure is an indicator of what is happening to global biological diversity,” said Achim Steiner, IUCN Director General.

“The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides the best available knowledge necessary for sound conservation action. We now need the political will and resources to stem the loss of biodiversity.

"Human activities may be the main threat to the world’s species but humans can also help them recover – the Chinese crested ibis, the Arabian oryx and the white rhino are just a few examples,” he added.

Island populations of native plants and animals are being lost through the effects of invasive alien species, habitat destruction and increased grazing which are a major threat to global biodiversity, the report found.

Hundreds of new plant assessments from Hawaii, the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), British Virgin Islands, the Seychelles, Tristan da Cunha, St. Helena and Ascension revealed a "bleak outlook".

Thousands of scientists and conservationists from all over the world contribute to the list, compiled by IUCN – the World Conservation Union – through its Species Survival Commission (SSC) and partner organizations.

The 1996 list revealed that one in four mammal species and one in eight bird species face extinction, while the 2000 List confirmed that the global extinction crisis is "as bad or worse than believed".

(gmcg)