For the first time , theIUCN ’s Red List of Threatened Specieshas surpassed the 100,000 species mark . Over 9,000 newly tax species have been added to the inclination , bringing the total to 105,732 . Of those , 28,338 metal money are threatened with extinction , that ’s a third of all those assessed .
Since 1964 , the International Union for the Conservation of Nature ( IUCN ) has been assessing the preservation statuses of the world ’s creatures . The Red List provide the most comprehensive look at the state of the planet ’s mintage to date .
One group faring peculiarly ill is fresh water fishes . According to the IUCN , half of all fresh water fish species endemic to Japan are now jeopardise with extinction , as are a third of those in Mexico . The perpetrator include agrarian and urban contamination , passing of gratis - flowing rivers , dams , weir , fishing , and invasive metal money .
“ To halt these diminution , we desperately necessitate policies on the human use of freshwaters that allow for for the needs of the many other mintage sharing these ecosystems,”saidWilliam Darwall , Head of the IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit .
Sadly , our sea ’ inhabitants are dwindling too . Rhino rays , a group that embrace both wedgefishes andguitarfishes , are now the “ most imperiled maritime fish class in the world . ” Of the 16 coinage assessed , 15 are now listed as Critically Endangered . This means they have a very high risk of croak nonextant in the wild . Thefalse shark ray , discover in Mauritania ’s waters , is on the boundary of extinction ; its numbers have drastically fallen by over 80 percent in just 45 years .
The cause of the rhino rays ’ troth is angle ; they suffer at the hands of unregulated coastal fishing and often end up as bycatch . Although they are n’t technically shark ( but closely related to ) , they are also targeted for their Little Phoebe which convey a high price when sold for use inshark fin soup , a traditional Asian delicacy that ’s decimate the humanity ’s shark .
“ To prevent losing these ray families , it is critical that governance immediately establish and enforce mintage protection , bycatch mitigation programs , marine protected expanse , and outside trade controls,”saidColin Simpfendorfer , Co - Chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission Shark Specialist Group .
In add-on to these coastal species , 500deep - sea bony fisheshave been add to the list . Facing deep - sea fishing , seabed mining , and the oil and gas industries , deep - sea fishes are being crusade towards quenching . They can be incur over 1,000 m ( 3,200 foot ) down , cook them incredibly hard to study and monitor . They often live beyond home jurisdictions , which impedes their protection .
Back on land , habitat devastation and need for bushmeat have forced seven primate species nigher to the brink , six of which live in West Africa . The IUCN notes that as many as 40 percent of primates in West and Central Africa are now threatened with extinction . One of these is theroloway scamp , targeted for meat in its home country of Ghana and the Côte d’Ivoire , which is now listed as Critically Endangered .
Over 5,000 trees from 180 country and 79 fungi specie have also been added to the listing . At least 15 fungus kingdom aboriginal to Europe ’s countryside , like the vibrant redsplendid waxcap , are now under threat .
“ With more than 100,000 species now assessed for the IUCN Red List , this update clearly shows how much human being around the world are overexploit wildlife,”saidIUCN Acting Director General , Dr Grethel Aguilar . “ We must come alive up to the fact that maintain nature ’s diverseness is in our stake , and is absolutely rudimentary to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals . States , businesses and civil society must urgently playact to stem the overexploitation of nature , and must prize and back local communities and Indigenous Peoples in strengthening sustainable livelihoods . ”
