Facts for Prelims (FFP)
Source: IUCN
Context: The latest update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals that climate change poses a threat to numerous species, including Atlantic salmon and green turtles.
- The report, released at the COP28 UN climate conference, also includes the first global assessment of freshwater fish.
Key Findings:
- The assessment indicates that 25% of freshwater fish species are at risk of extinction, with at least 17% affected by climate change.
- The report highlights various threats, including decreasing water levels, rising sea levels, shifting seasons, pollution, dams, overfishing, and invasive species.
- Additionally, the update features conservation successes, such as the scimitar-horned oryx and the saiga antelope, but notes that changing climatic conditions could undermine their future.
- The report also reveals the impact of illegal logging and trade on big-leaf mahogany, which has moved from Vulnerable to Endangered on the Red List.
IUCN:
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the Red Data Book, is a list of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species.
It was founded in 1964 and is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the global extinction risk status of animal, fungus, and plant species.
