What Have We Achieved

Decade of Biodiversity

RED List

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. From its small beginning, the IUCN Red List has grown in size and complexity and now plays an increasingly prominent role in guiding conservation activities of governments, NGOs and scientific institutions.

To increase awareness of the enormous variety of life on our planet, and raise the profile of threatened species, we have embedded the IUCN Red List ‘Amazing Species’ code on this webpage. 

During 2012 we hope to introduce an on-line 'Red List' of endangered wood species to compliment our KNOW Your Wood Guide which will be launched in April 2012.

Biodiversity is the backbone of all life on earth, but every day species’ extinctions are continuing at up to 1,000 times or more the natural rate. The extinction of individual species, but also habitat destruction, land conversion for agriculture and development, climate change, pollution and the spread of invasive species are only some of the threats responsible for today's crisis.

Following on from 2010’s International Year of Biodiversity, Governments meeting at the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) have approved a step change for biodiversity: a new Strategic Plan for the next ten years to reduce the current pressures on the planet’s biodiversity and take urgent action to save and restore nature.“What we’ve decided at this meeting will change the future of life on Earth - and many solutions are available to us,” says Jane Smart, Director of IUCN’s Biodiversity Conservation Group.

“We know that targeted conservation action works. Results from the latest Red List show us that the status of biodiversity would have declined by an additional 20 percent at least, if conservation action had not been taken.”

Throughout 2011 and 2012, a different ‘amazing’ species will be regularly featured on the IUCN website, with information on the threats it faces and any conservation action being undertaken. The species selected represent the entire range of taxonomic groups and cover all regions. Both charismatic and obscure species will be featured, providing an insight into the astonishing level of biodiversity that exists.