The outlook for Earth’s biodiversity is grim. Pollution, disease, habitat loss and climate change are among the myriad stressors that now threaten tens of thousands of species on Earth. Of the more than 150,000 species assessed on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, “more than a quarter are threatened with extinction,” says Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red List Division. “The trend on the Red List is that things are getting worse.”
The latest update to the list, which includes 22 species in decline in conservation status, was published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature on Friday. Abalone, dugong and other marine life are among the species highlighted in the announcement.
The updates come amid key international negotiations in Montreal Drafting a global agreement to protect biodiversity And reverse its decline by 2030, similar to the Paris climate agreement that set goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. The climate emergency often overshadows the plight of the planet’s rapidly disappearing species, but these crises are “two sides of the same coin,” Hilton-Taylor said, with addressing one problem helping to alleviate the other.
The Red List has a network of thousands of researchers around the world who assess the risks to each species. These were then combined into a ranking, ranging from “least concern” to “critically endangered,” for those species still found in the wild. (There are also “extinct in the wild” and “extinct” categories.) Hilton-Taylor said that while the list has no legal force, it serves as a “first call to conservation action” for governments and conservation groups to Key information needed to draft a conservation plan.
Abalone is a marine mollusk widely considered a seafood delicacy. Nearly 40 percent of the world’s 54 species of abalone are now threatened with extinction, largely due to unsustainable fishing and poaching, according to the IUCN. Pollution, disease and marine heat waves exacerbated by climate change are exacerbating the plight of these animals.
The condition of another sea creature, the dugong — a marine mammal related to the manatee — is also deteriorating. The population off the coast of East Africa is now considered critically endangered, with fewer than 250 adults remaining in the wild. The dugong population of New Caledonia, a French island in the South Pacific, is now listed as endangered. Injuries from ship strikes endanger populations in both countries, as do oil and gas extraction in East Africa and poaching in New Caledonia.
The IUCN also focused on columnar corals found throughout the Caribbean. Since 1990, populations across most of its range have declined by more than 80% and have changed from Vulnerable to Critically Endangered. Of serious concern is the emergence of the highly contagious stony coral tissue loss disease over the past four years. Rising ocean temperatures and pollution can make corals more susceptible to such diseases, and columnar corals are “really just the tip of the iceberg” when it comes to coral plight, Hilton-Taylor said.
The update brought some hope, with seven species seeing improvements. The Yosemite toad moved from endangered to vulnerable status thanks to a comprehensive conservation plan involving multiple government agencies as well as local landowners, Hilton-Taylor said. Likewise, local community engagement was key to the transition of the Australian Brinebird, a species of bird, from endangered to vulnerable status. The bird thrives in wetlands, and conservationists in Australia are working with local rice farmers to make their fields friendly to the species, he said.
Hilton-Taylor added that these successes show that well-designed conservation plans — ones that involve local communities and have adequate resources — can make a difference in protecting species from decline. He and many other conservation experts hope the deal negotiated this month in Montreal to protect biodiversity will help do such work on a larger scale. “We really need a global plan to protect life on Earth,” he said, and it must have “ambitious, bold, measurable goals.”
One of the targets currently under consideration in the Montreal negotiations is Protect 30% of the planet’s land and seas by 2030. in a statement Published by the nonprofit Wildlife Conservation Society, its vice president of international policy, Susan Lieberman, said that for the negotiations to be successful, “governments must commit to: Protecting ecological integrity and highly intact ecosystems, from forests to coral reefs.” ); equitably protect and conserve at least 30 percent of land and sea by 2030; and eliminate the exploitation, trade and use of wildlife that is illegal, unsustainable or likely to spread pathogens to humans, wildlife or other animals.”
