Nearly 30% of 138,000 assessed species face extinction, conservation group warns

(CNN) – A major international conservation agency warned that 28% of the 138,374 species identified on its “survival watch list” as being under threat have now moved to the most dangerous “red list”, which means they are at high risk. of extinction.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported on Saturday in Marseille, France, during its annual update of the Red List that despite the global improvement at the species level, the number of species that are at high risk of extinction continues to grow.

The organization said that many regional tuna stocks remain seriously depleted. For example, yellowfin tuna continues to be overfished in the Indian Ocean.

The update also included a reassessment of the world’s shark and ray species, showing that 37% of those species now face extinction. All threatened species of sharks and rays are overexploited, the IUCN reported, with 31% of them most affected by habitat loss and degradation and 10% affected by climate change.

“We see striking similarities between shark and ray statistics and recent estimates for plants: about 2 in 5 are under threat of extinction, and habitat loss and degradation pose more immediate threats than climate change,” said the Dr. Eimear Nic Lughadha, Conservation Scientist at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.

Additionally, the Komodo dragon, the world’s largest lizard, is now considered endangered due to significant loss of its habitat from ongoing human activities and climate change, the IUCN reported.

“The idea that these prehistoric animals have come one step closer to extinction due in part to climate change is terrifying, and a clearer call for nature to be placed at the center of all decision-making on the eve of COP26. in Glasgow, “said Dr Andrew Terry, director of conservation for the Zoological Society of London.

COP26, a United Nations conference on climate change, will take place in November. Alok Sharma, chair of COP26, has said that he wants the conference to agree on a number of key targets, including the end date for coal use, a commitment to make all new car sales zero emissions in the next 14 to 19 years, halting deforestation at the end of the decade and further reductions in methane emissions.

There is reason to hope for species at risk: of the seven most commercially fished tuna species that were reassessed, four of them show signs that they are beginning to recover after countries applied more sustainable fishing quotas and after fighting with successful illegal fishing, said the IUCN.

The four species of tuna include Atlantic bluefin tuna, which went from being listed as “endangered” to “least concern,” southern bluefin tuna, which went from “critically endangered” to “endangered.” white and yellowfin, which both moved from “near threatened” to “least concern”.

“These Red List assessments are proof that sustainable fishing approaches work, with huge long-term benefits for livelihoods and biodiversity. We need to continue to enforce sustainable fishing quotas and crack down on illegal fishing.” , said Bruce B. Collette, Chairman of the IUCN SSC Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group.

“Tuna species migrate over thousands of kilometers, so coordinating their management at the global level is also key,” Collette said.