Threat to natural world highlighted

Work to conserve species has helped the white rhino which faced threat of extinction
12 April 2012

A fifth of the world's mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians are under threat of extinction, a major report has warned as governments continued to discuss efforts to tackle losses to the natural world.

A study examining the status of more than 25,000 vertebrate species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species found the number at risk of extinction was increasing.

According to the research in the journal Science, on average 52 species of mammals, birds and amphibians slide a step closer to extinction each year, moving into a more threatened category on the Red List.

But without conservation action the situation would be much worse, with an additional 20% of species moving into a more threatened category, the report estimated.

Work to conserve species has helped a number of animals turn their fortunes round, from the black-footed ferret, which became extinct in the wild before being reintroduced in the US, to the white rhino and the humpback whale.

According to information from the IUCN Red List, which assesses species on the level of extinction risk they face and considers them to be under threat if they fall into the categories of vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered, 19% of vertebrates are threatened.

The percentage of each group of invertebrates under threat ranged from 13% of birds to 41% of amphibians, the study found.

But 64 species had seen an improvement in their status as a result of work to help protect them and their habitat.

Others have not seen their Red List status improve as a result of conservation, but without it they would be declining - and in the case of some species, such as the black stilt, a wading bird only found in New Zealand, would have gone extinct, the study found.

Dr Simon Stuart, chairman of the IUCN's species survival commission and an author of the study, said history showed "conservation can achieve the impossible", as in the case of the white rhino in southern Africa.

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