A new report announced that nearly 30 percent of all species assessed by an international conservation organization are at risk of extinction due to increased habitat loss and climate change.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) updated its annual “Red List of Species” on Saturday and 38,543 of the 138,374 species examined on the survival watch list are endangered.
While the news is alarming, IUCN said the review shows the recovery of several commercial tuna species threatened by overfishing.
“The current update of the IUCN Red List is a powerful sign that, despite growing pressures on our oceans, species can recover if states are truly committed to sustainable practices,” said Dr. Bruno Oberle. Director General of IUCN, in a statement.
“States and others now meeting at the IUCN World Conservation Congress in Marseille must seize the opportunity to drive ambition in biodiversity conservation and work to achieve binding goals based on sound scientific data. These assessments of the Red List demonstrate the extent to which our lives and livelihoods are intertwined with biodiversity. “
The Red List update gave bad news to the world’s ray and shark species, 37 percent of which are threatened with extinction due to overfishing, habitat loss and climate change.
The Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, has also been promoted from “vulnerable” to “endangered” on the list.
IUCN divides the threat level of species into different levels in descending order from most endangered to least endangered:
- Total species assessed: 138,374
- Total endangered species: 38,543
- Extinct – 902
- Extinct in the Wild – 80
- Critically endangered: 8,404
- In danger: 14,647
- Vulnerable: 15,492
- Near threatened: 8,127
- Depending on lower risk / conservation: 170 [ an old category that is gradually being phased out]
- Minimum concern: 71,148
- Poor data: 19,404