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4h ago

IUCN Red List Shows Steeper Bird Declines and Rising Arctic Seal Risk as Green Turtle Rebounds

The Abu Dhabi update is guiding conservation priorities before COP30.

FILE - A hooded seal is released March 30, 2008, by the University of New England's Marine Animal Rehabilitation Center in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Joel Page, File)
In one positive, green sea turtles are rebounding thanks to conservation efforts.
FILE - Green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) make their way into the ocean upon their release at Kuta beach, Bali, Indonesia, Jan. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Firdia Lisnawati, File)
FILE - Researchers from the Aruana Project measure a green sea turtle after capturing it temporarily at a feeding site on Itaipu Beach in Niteroi, Brazil, May 24, 2023. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo, File)

Overview

  • Assessments now cover 172,620 species worldwide, with 48,646 classified as threatened with extinction.
  • The global bird review finds 61% of species in decline, up from 44% in 2016, largely due to habitat loss from agriculture and logging, with hotspots in Madagascar, West Africa and Central America.
  • Climate-driven sea-ice loss has moved the hooded seal to endangered status, with bearded and harp seals reclassified as near threatened.
  • Six species were newly listed as extinct, including the slender-billed curlew and Christmas Island shrew, and three Australian mammals were declared extinct in their first assessments.
  • Following decades of protections at key nesting sites, the green sea turtle was downlisted to least concern after an estimated 28% global increase since the 1970s.