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Conservation status
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The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, known threats, and so on.
Global systems
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system.
Discussion
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Encyclopedia
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The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species remaining extant either in the present day or the near future. Many factors are taken into account when assessing the conservation status of a species: not simply the number remaining, but the overall increase or decrease in the population over time, breeding success rates, known threats, and so on.
Global systems
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the best-known worldwide conservation status listing and ranking system. The system divides threatened species into three categories: Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (EN), and Vulnerable (VU). Also listed are the documented extinctions that have occurred since 1500 AD and taxa that are extinct in the wild. Lower risk taxa are also divided into categories.
The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) aims to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
National systems
- Australia. The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act) describes lists of threatened species, ecological communities and threatening processes. The categories resemble those of the 1994 IUCN Red List Categories & Criteria (version 2.3). Prior to the EPBC Act, a simpler classification system was used by the Endangered Species Protection Act 1992. State governments also have differing systems.
- Belgium. The Research Institute for Nature and Forest (INBO) publishes an online set of more than 150 nature indicators in Dutch.
- Canada. COSEWIC (The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) is a committee of experts that assesses and designates which wild species are in some danger of disappearing from Canada Under the Species at Risk Act (SARA), it is up to the federal government, which is politically accountable, to legally protect species assessed by COSEWIC. See also: British Columbia Red List.
- China. The State, provinces and some counties have determined their key protected wildlife species. There is the China red data book.
- Finland. A large number of species are protected under the Nature Conservation Act, and through the EU Habitats Directive and EU Birds Directive.
- India. Wild Life Protection Act, 1972, Amended 2003 Biological Diversity Act, 2002
- Japan. The Ministry of Environment publishes a Threatened Wildlife of Japan Red Data Book.
- The Netherlands. The Dutch Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality publishes a list of threatened species, and conservation is enforced by the Nature Conservation Act 1998. Species are also protected through the Wild Birds and Habitats Directives
- New Zealand. The Department of Conservation publishes the New Zealand Threat Classification System lists. Under this system threatened species or subspecies are assigned one of seven categories: Nationally Critical, Nationally Endangered, Nationally Vulnerable, Serious Decline, Gradual Decline, Sparse, or Range Restricted. While the classification looks only at a national level, many species are unique to New Zealand, and species which are secure overseas are noted as such.
- South Africa. , established under the , is responsible for drawing up lists of affected species, and monitoring compliance with CITES decisions. It is envisaged that previously diverse Red lists (e.g. for , , and ) would be more easily kept current, both technically and financially.
- Thailand. The Wild Animal Reservation and Protection Act of BE 2535 defines fifteen reserved animal species and two classes of protected species, of which hunting, breeding, possession, and trade are prohibited or restricted by law. The National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is responsible for the regulation of these activities.
- Ukraine. The maintains list of endangered species (divided into 7 categories from "0" - extinct to "VI" - rehabilitated) and publishes it within the .
- United States of America. The Endangered Species Act created the Endangered Species List.
Consumer guides
Consumer guides for seafood, such as Seafood Watch, generally divide fish and other sea creatures into three categories, analogous to conservation status categories:
- Red ("say no" or "avoid")
- Yellow or orange ("think twice", "good alternatives" or "some concerns")
- Green ("best seafood choices").
The categories do not simply reflect the imperilment of individual species, but also consider the environmental impacts of how and where they are fished, such as through bycatch or ocean bottom trawlers. Often groups of species are assessed rather than individual species (e.g. Bluefin tuna or squid).
The Marine Conservation Society has 5 levels of ratings for seafood species, as displayed on their website.
See also
External links
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