Time for version 2.0: IUCN Red List

GS Paper III Environment and Ecology

Context:

Scientists and conservationists across the world have expressed concerns that IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is outdated and unreliable.

25 scientists have expressed multiple concerns about the Red List affecting conservation efforts, especially in the Global South, in a pre-print paper.
The paper is the first time that scientists, researchers and conservationists across diverse taxa have critically reviewed the flaws in the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) system of assigning species status.

IUCN Red list was formed in 1964, serves as a crucial extinction risk assessment tool and a comprehensive resource for species conservation.
IUCN, species are classified into nine categories of extinction risks:
- Not evaluated, data deficient, least concern, near threatened, vulnerable, endangered, critically endangered, extinct in the wild and extinct.

iucn red list

Limited Coverage: Only 150,000 species are assessed by the IUCN red list, contributing less than 10% of the estimated two million species globally.
Divergence in Estimates: Discrepancies between the Red List’s assessment of about 42,100 threatened species and Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) estimates of over a million species facing potential extinction threats.
Incomplete Assessments: Many species, both undescribed and classified, may face extinction threats, and reassessments recommended every 10 years have not been completed.
- For instance, in the marine realm, over 40 per cent of top-fished species have outdated assessments. Overall, 28 per cent of assessments have already been declared outdated, potentially undermining the long-term use of the IUCN Red List.
Outdated Criteria: Categories and criteria used in the Red List are over 30 years old, lacking significant evolution.
Technological Obsolescence: The systems were implemented without leveraging technological tools such as geographic information systems and remote sensing, hindering the accuracy of assessments.