Briefly
SPOTLIGHT ON THE IUCN RED LIST
IUCN marks 60th anniversary of Red List
Hundreds of leaders, experts, partners and supporters of the IUCN gathered at the 16th Conference of the Parties in Cali, Colombia, in October 2024 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. There are plans to expand this critical indicator of the health of biodiversity, with assessments to be in- creased to include at least 260,000 species, and 142,000 species to be reassessed. To celebrate this milestone, IUCN also an- nounced the launch of a year-long social media campaign, The Most Iconic Things Are Not Things, to raise awareness and funds to accelerate species assessments and reassessments, which will culminate at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi in October 2025. Source: IUCN (2024)
iucn.org/es/node/ 42475
IUCN partners with Alipay Ant Forest for anniversary campaign To further celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Red List, Alipay Ant Forest and IUCN have launched a campaign on biodiversity and climate action. The campaign, hosted on the Alipay Ant Forest digital platform, emphasizes the significance of threatened species in our ecosystems, and aims to in- spire.100 million people to take environ- mentally positive actions in support of a sustainable and biodiverse planet. The IUCN Red List has become a critical global resource for assessing the conservation sta- tus of species and raising awareness about the need for biodiversity preservation. With this partnership IUCN hopes to reach a broader audience and raise aware- ness of the importance of protecting Earth’s biodiversity. As one of the world’s leading digital platforms for promoting eco-friendly actions, Alipay Ant Forest is committed to driving sustainable initiatives through digital innovation. Since its launch, .700 million users have participated in activities that have resulted in the planting of . 548 million trees. Source: BusinessWire (2024) businesswire. com/news/home/20241112585482/en/alipay- ant-forest-and-iucn-red-list-join-forces-to- increase-public-awareness-of-biodiversity- and-conservation
More than one in three tree species worldwide faces extinction For the first time, themajority of the world’s trees have been assessed for the IUCN Red List, and at least 16,425 of the 47,282 spe- cies assessed are at risk of extinction. Trees now account for over one quarter of spe- cies on the IUCN Red List, and the number of threatened trees is more than double the number of all threatened birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians
combined.Tree spe- cies are at risk of extinction in 192 countries, with the highest proportion of threatened trees found on islands. Island trees are at high risk because of deforestation for urban development and agriculture, as well as invasive species, pests and diseases. Climate change is increasingly threatening trees, especially in the tropics, through sea-level rise and stronger, more frequent storms. Source: IUCN (2024)
iucn.org/press-release/ 202410/more-one-three-tree-species- worldwide-faces-extinction-iucn-red-list
Red List status reassessed for four UK shorebirds Four UK shorebird species have seen signifi- cant declines in numbers and have moved to higher threat categories on the global IUCN Red List as a result. Grey plovers spend the winter mainly on estuaries and have declined by .30% globally since the late 1990s. The species’ conservation status has moved from Least Concern to Vulnerable. Dunlins, which also winter mainly on estuaries, have declined by at least 20%since theearly 2000s. Similarly, turnstones, which can be found in many countries and mainly spend the winter on more rocky coastlines, have declined by at least 20%since themid 2000s. Both dunlins and turnstones have been recategorized from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The curlew sandpiper is a scarce species that passes through the UK on its autumn migration between its wintering areas further south and its Arctic breeding grounds. It has declined by .30% globally since the late 2000s and its Near Threatened status has been updated to Vulnerable. It is not just these four shorebirds that are strug- gling; the latest IUCN Red List update for birds revealed a concerning downwards trend in migratory shorebird numbers globally, with 16 species moved to higher threat categories. Source: RSPB (2024)
rspb.org.uk/whats- happening/news/four-uk-shorebirds- moved-to-iucn-red-list-following-latest- review
European hedgehog now categorized as Near Threatened The conservation status of the west European hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus has been updated from Least Concern to Near Threatened in the latest release of the IUCN Red List. Once abundant across Europe, the species’ populations are rapidly shrinking. Urban development, agricultural expansion and road infrastructure have fragmented its habitat, and vehicle colli- sions, the use of pesticides and poor man- agement of gardens continue to reduce hedgehog numbers. Monitoring efforts indicate that its decline may exceed 30% over the past decade, putting the species at serious risk. Hedgehogs feed on a variety of soil invertebrates and are considered an indicator species for the health of the eco- system as a whole. Source: Mammal Society (2024) mammal.
org.uk/press-hub/breaking-european- hedgehog-listed-as-near-threatened-on- iucn-red-listnbsp
Over 40% of reef-building coral species facing extinction A reassessment of the conservation status of nearly 900 warm-water reef-building coral species, the first since 2008,shows that 44% are now categorized as Critically Endangered. In the previous assessment, one-third of the species were at such risk of extinction. The reassessment used the latest data from the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network, alongside analysis of current and future threats, such as the projected increase in warming and bleaching events using data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Alongside climate change and rising sea temperatures, corals are sus- ceptible to other pervasive threats, including pollution, agricultural runoff, disease and unsustainable fishing practices such as bot- tom-trawling. Scientists agree the primary solution to reverse this situation and save corals from extinction is to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This re- assessment focused on reef-building corals, whichoccur inshallow,warm-waterhabitats, where they form the colourful reefs typical for tropical and sub-tropical ocean areas. Assessments of cold-water corals, which are foundincolder,deeperwatersanddonot dir- ectly depend on sunlight, are still ongoing. Source: Oceanographic (2024)
oceanographicmagazine.com/news/over- 40-of-coral-species-now-face-extinction- says-iucn-red-list
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited. Oryx, 2024, 58(6), 683–688 © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605325000195
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