A Regional Red List is a report of the threatened status of species within a certain country or region. It is based on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biol ...

of Threatened Species, an inventory of the

conservation status The conservation status of a group of organisms (for instance, a species) indicates whether the group still exists and how likely the group is to become extinct in the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing conservation ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

on a global scale. Regional Red Lists assess the risk of

extinction Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

to species within a political management unit and therefore may feed directly into national and regional planning. This project is coordinated by the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity devoted to the worldwide conservation of animals and their habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained the London Zoo, and since 1931 Whipsnade Park. History On 29 ...

, the

World Conservation Union The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) and partners in national governments, universities and organizations throughout the world. Regional Red Lists may assist countries or regions in: * Determining the conservation status and trends of species * Identifying species or ecosystems under greatest threat * Informing conservation planning and priority setting * Raising awareness of threatened species

Assessing extinction risk on a regional scale

The IUCN Categories and Criteria were initially designed to assess the conservation status of species globally, however there was a demand for guidelines to apply the system at the regional level. In 2003, IUCN developed a set of transparent, quantitative criteria to assess the conservation status of species at the regional and national level. This approach is now being applied in many countries throughout the world. Recently, Regional Red Lists have been completed for Mongolian Mammals and Fishes. These have also been accompanied by Summary Conservation Action Plans, detailing recommended conservation measures for each threatened species.

Creating a Regional Red List

A Regional Red List may be created by any country or organisation by following the clear, repeatable protocol. The process is as follows: # All information relevant to a species conservation status is collected, including species distribution, population trend information,

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

, ecology and life history information, threats to the species and conservation measures currently in place. # A conservation assessment is made, using the IUCN Regional Categories and Criteria. # A regional workshop is held in which experts review the assessments, make any corrections necessary and add additional information. # The assessments are then collated into a Regional Red List document. # A Summary Conservation Action Plan may also be created.

Towards 2010 targets

Summary of 2006 IUCN Red List categories.

In April 2002 at the

Convention on Biological Diversity The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is a multilateral treaty. The Convention has three main goals: the conservation of biological diversity (or biodiversity); the sustainable use of its ...

(CBD), 188 nations committed themselves to actions to “…achieve, by 2010, a significant reduction of the current rate of

biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...

at the global, regional and national levels…”. When a Regional Red List is compiled at regular intervals, it can provide information about how the status of the region's

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

is changing over time. This information may be useful to policy makers, conservationists, and the general public, as it may assist countries in meeting their obligation to the CBD.

Building the Regional Red List Network

Currently, a global network of countries and individuals working on Regional Red Lists is being developed. This will include a centralised online database where Regional Red List assessments and Action Plans can be stored, managed, and made accessible. With this regional network there will be opportunities to learn from each other's experiences in applying the IUCN Categories and Criteria and in using this information for conservation planning and priority setting.

British reviews of conservation status

Two public bodies in Britain,

Natural England Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, ...

and the

Joint Nature Conservation Committee The Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the public body that advises the UK Government and devolved administrations on UK-wide and international nature conservation. Originally established under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, J ...

(JNCC), have produced British Red Data Books and other reviews of different plants and animals assigning their conservation status according to IUCN Red Data Book criteria. In 2016 the JNCC produced a spreadsheet which incorporated these reviews and lists of threatened species based on other criteria such as Biodiversity Action Plan Priority Lists and Schedules of the Wildlife & Countryside Act.

uses the following definitions for uncommon species not rare enough to be included in the Red Data Book: :Nationally important site for a species is one which has more than 1% of the British population. :Internationally important site for a species is one which has more than 1% of the north-west European population. :Nationally scarce species are those which occur in 16–100 10 km squares in Great Britain :Nationally rare species are those which occur in 1–15 10 km squares in Great Britain.

References

Clark, E.L., Munkhbat, J., Dulamtseren, S., Baillie, J.E.M., Batsaikhan, N., Samiya, R. and Stubbe, M. (compilers and editors) (2006a) Mongolian Red List of Mammals. Regional Red List Series Vol. 1. Zoological Society of London, London. (In English and Mongolian).

Clark, E.L., Munkhbat, J., Dulamtseren, S., Baillie, J.E.M., Batsaikhan, N., King, S.R.B., Samiya, R., Stubbe, M. (compilers and editors) (2006b) Summary Conservation Action Plans for Mongolian Mammals. Regional Red List Series Vol. 2. Zoological Society of London. (In English and Mongolian).
*Gärdenfors, U., Hilton-Taylor, C., Mace, G.M., Rodríguez, R.P. 2001. The Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional Levels. 15 (5): 1206–1212. *Greenbaum, E., Komar, O. 2005. Threat assessment and conservation prioritization of the herpetofauna of El Salvador. Biodiversity and Conservation. 14: 2377–2395. *IUCN (2001
IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1. IUCN Species Survival Commission. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. ii + 30 pp.
https://web.archive.org/web/20071214081736/http://intranet.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/SSC/RedList/redlistcatsfrench.pdf En français
En español
*IUCN (2003
Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional Levels: Version 3.0. IUCN Species Survival Commission. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. ii + 26 pp.
https://web.archive.org/web/20061206095820/http://intranet.iucn.org/webfiles/doc/SSC/SSCwebsite/Red_List/regionalguidelinesFR.pdf En français
En español
*Miller, R.M., Rodríguez, J.P., Aniskowicz-Fowler, T., Bambaradeniya, C., Boles, R., Eaton, M.A., Gärdenfors, U., Keller, V., Molur, S., Walker, S., Pollock, C. (2006) Extinction Risk and Conservation Priorities. Science. 313: 441. *Miller, R.M., Rodríguez, J.P., Aniskowicz-Fowler, T., Bambaradeniya, C., Boles, R., Eaton, M.A., Gärdenfors, U., Keller, V., Molur, S., Walker, S., Pollock, C. (2007) National Threatened Species Listing Based on IUCN Criteria and Regional Guidelines: Current Status and Future Perspectives. Conservation Biology. 21 (3): 684–696.
Ocock, J., Baasanjav, G., Baillie, J. E. M., Erbenebat, M., Kottelat, M., Mendsaikhan, B. and Smith, K. (compilers and editors) (2006). Mongolian Red List of Fishes. Regional Red List Series Vol. 3. Zoological Society of London, London. (In English and Mongolian).Ocock, J., Baasanjav, G., Baillie, J. E. M., Erbenebat, M., Kottelat, M., Mendsaikhan, B. and Smith, K. (compilers and editors) (2006). Summary Conservation Action Plans for Mongolian Fishes. Regional Red List Series Vol. 4. Zoological Society of London, London. (In English and Mongolian).
;Notes

External links

National Red List websiteZoological Society of LondonInstitute of ZoologyIUCN Red ListIUCN Red List DatabaseConvention on Biological Diversity
at Plantarium web site

{{threatened species International Union for Conservation of Nature Biodiversity Biota by conservation status