THE RED LIST
SEVEN SHADES OF
RED
Shaun Hurrell
R ed : a colour of alarm , urgency , passion and energy . For most conservationists , “ The Red List ” evokes all four of these feelings , perhaps all at once . The Red List tells us which species are most in danger and which to conserve first . It is also a powerful tool for persuading governments to protect threatened species , and for most of the plant and animal species worldwide , it is vital . The Red List is nicknamed the “ barometer of life ”, for it is a rich compendium of information on the threats to species , their ecological requirements , where they live , and information on conservation actions that can be taken to reduce their risk of extinction .
In full , it ’ s called The IUCN [ International Union for the Conservation of Nature ] Red List of Threatened Species TM , and BirdLife International is the authority for birds , coordinating the process of evaluating all of the world ’ s bird species against the Red List categories and criteria in order to assess their extinction risk .
THE LIST IS A POWERFUL TOOL FOR PERSUADING GOVERNMENTS TO PROTECT THREATENED SPECIES
0 Threatened by forest fires , the Gran Canaria Blue Chaffinch Fringilla polatzeki is now Europe ’ s rarest passerine . Discover it and more newly-recognised species on page 46 . Photo M . A . Peña Estevez
It ’ s much more than a list , however . It ’ s the culmination of decades of work , efforts from thousands of people , reports from the field , production of scientific papers , countless calls , emails , and discussions on BirdLife ’ s Globally Threatened Bird Forums . Those that contribute are an army of ornithology experts : from professionals studying specific species , to bird tour guides who notice changes day-in and day-out ; from local and national NGOs ( such as BirdLife Partners ), to seasoned conservationists with a regional or global perspective ; and in a few cases , the only people who can access very remote areas and have been lucky enough to see particularly rare species .
To assign each species to a Red List category , the BirdLife Global Science Team assesses the size and trend of its population and geographic range , and compares this to the quantitative thresholds in the IUCN Red List Criteria . Doing
14 BIRDLIFE • DECEMBER 2016