The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has surpassed 120,000 species. Of these, 32,441 are threatened with extinction.

What is IUCN?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is a membership union uniquely composed of both government and civil society organisations.

It provides public, private and non-governmental organisations with the knowledge and tools that enable human progress, economic development and nature conservation to take place together.

Created in 1948, IUCN has evolved into the world’s largest and most diverse environmental network. It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its  more than 1,300 Member organisations and the input of 14,500 experts. 

IUCN's headquarters is situated in Gland, Switzerland. 

IUCN is the global authority on the status of the natural world and the measures needed to safeguard it. 

IUCN Red List

IUCN maintains the global standards for assessments of risk of species extinction and ecosystem collapse – the IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species and of Ecosystems respectively.

Assessments for species published on the IUCN Red List highlight continuing species declines, especially from rising threats such as climate change and invasive species.

The Red List is divided into nine categories:

* Not Evaluated

* Data Deficient

* Least Concern

* Near Threatened

* Vulnerable

* Endangered

* Critically Endangered

* Extinct In The Wild

* Extinct

IUCN is at the forefront of the global fight to save species from extinction. IUCN experts, and tools such as the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provide technical expertise and guide conservation action worldwide.

Latest update of Red List

1) World’s most expensive fungus threatened:  

The world’s most expensive fungus, Caterpillar Fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), has entered the IUCN Red List as Vulnerable. This fungus is highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine, where it has been used for over 2,000 years to treat many diseases including those related to the kidneys and lungs. Demand for the fungus has risen sharply since the 1990s.

Caterpillar Fungus, which only grows on the Tibetan Plateau, parasitises the larvae of ghost moths while they are buried underground. It then grows through their bodies and emerges through the larvae’s heads to the surface, where it is harvested.

Caterpillar Fungus is known as Himalayan Viagra and keeda jadi in Uttarakhand. 

In the last two decades, the fungus has become the main source of livelihoods for thousands of people where it occurs. Caterpillar Fungus’ populations have declined by at least 30 per cent over the past 15 years as a result of overharvesting.

2) A third of lemur species on the brink of extinction:

As many as 33 lemur species are Critically Endangered, with 103 of the 107 surviving species threatened with extinction, mainly due to deforestation and hunting in Madagascar. 

Thirteen lemur species have been pushed to higher threat categories as a result of intensifying human pressures. Among those newly listed as Critically Endangered are Verreaux’s Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) and Madame Berthe's Mouse Lemur (Microcebus berthae), the smallest primate in the world, both of which were previously listed as Endangered.

3) North Atlantic Right Whale one step from extinction:

The North Atlantic Right Whale (Eubalaena glacialis) has been moved from Endangered to Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Fewer than 250 mature individuals were estimated to be alive at the end of 2018, the total population having declined by approximately 15 per cent since 2011.

4) European Hamster now Critically Endangered:

The European Hamster (Cricetus cricetus), once abundant across Europe and Russia, has suffered severe population declines across its entire range and is now listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Research has shown that the population declines are likely due to lowered reproduction rates.

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