Scientists warn of endangered animal species: 40% may remain. sharks

The publication notes that the Komodo dragonflies that live on the Indonesian islands, which are steadily declining as ocean levels rise, have been classified as an endangered species.

In total, about 28 percent. of 138 thousand. Species assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are threatened with permanent extinction in the wild, with increasing destructive effects of human activities on natural habitats.

However, the latest list of endangered species also highlights the potential for recovery. For example, decades of efforts to limit overexploitation have driven four commercially caught tuna species from extinction.

Perhaps the most impressive recovery is seen among bluefin tuna. This species, until now considered on the verge of extinction, has been transferred in three steps to the species of “least concern”.

The condition of bluefin tuna, a favorite luxury delicacy in Japan, was last assessed in 2011.

“These assessments in the Red Book show how closely our lives and livelihoods are intertwined with biodiversity,” IUCN Director General Bruno Oberle said in a statement.

The loud call

An important message from the IUCN congress in the French port city of Marseille is that species extinction and ecosystem destruction pose no less of a threat than global climate change.

Furthermore, climate change itself is obscuring the survival prospects of many species, especially endemic animals and plants with a reduced range and an ecological niche, in many cases very specific.

Komodo dragonflies, the largest lizards currently living in the world, live only in the Komodo National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and on the neighboring island of Flores.

This species is “increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change,” the IUCN noted. As ocean levels rise, the tiny habitat of these animals is projected to decline by at least 30 percent over the next 45 years.

In unprotected areas, the situation is also deteriorating dramatically as human exposure increases.

“The idea that these prehistoric animals have taken another step towards extinction due to climate change is terrifying,” said Andrew Terry, director of conservation projects at the London-based Zoological Society.

The disappearance of the Komodo drones is a “strong call to make nature the most important in any decision-making” at the next major United Nations climate conference in Glasgow, he added.

“Alarming speed”

At the time, the most comprehensive assessment of the condition of sharks and rays so far revealed that of 1.2 thousand. species 37 percent. now there is an imminent threat of extinction: they are classified as vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered species.

Compared to the situation seven years earlier, the number of such species has increased by a third, said Nicholas Dulvy, a professor at Simon Fraser University, lead author of a study published Monday based on a new assessment of the state of the species in the International Red Data Book.

“The protection status of this entire group continues to deteriorate, so the general risk of extinction is growing at an alarming rate,” the specialist told AFP.

Among the most threatened are five species of sawfish, whose jagged spies often become entangled in fishing gear, as well as memorable-looking Atlantic gray sharks.

Cartilaginous fish, most of which are sharks and rays, are “important to ecosystems, economies and cultures,” said Sonia Fordam, president of Shark Advocates International, co-author of a future study.

“By not restricting fishing, we are endangering the health of the oceans and stifling opportunities for sustainable fishing, tourism, tradition and food security in the long term,” he said in a speech to AFP.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), about 800,000 tons of sharks, but the study shows that the real number is 2 to 4 times higher.

An environmental action measure

IUCN also formally unveiled “green status” on Saturday, the first international standard for assessing species recovery and the impact of environmental measures.

“It makes invisible environmental work visible,” Molly Grace, an Oxford University professor and co-chair of the Green State Committee, said at a news conference on Saturday.

The new measure makes it possible to assess the degree of depletion or recovery of one or another species in relation to historical population levels. At the same time, the effectiveness of past or potential future environmental measures can be evaluated.

Efforts to halt the decline of large-scale plant and animal populations and species diversity have largely been unsuccessful.

In 2019, UN biodiversity experts warned that around 1 million people are on the brink of extinction. species. Some argue that this process is the sixth mass extinction of species in the last 500 million. years.

“The status of the Red Book shows that we are on the brink of a sixth mass extinction,” Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN Red Book unit, told AFP.

“If this continues at an accelerated pace, we will soon face a major crisis,” he stressed.