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Tuesday 7 October 2008 (Embargo lifted on Mon 6 Oct 08 at 11pm AEDT)

RAPID ROUNDUP: 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – experts respond

[Note: there was also be a briefing on the IUCN Red List on Tuesday 7 October with primate expert Jane Goodall and zoologist Chris West. Click here for details]

The IUCN Red List (www.iucn.org) now includes 44,838 species, of which 16,928 are threatened with extinction (38 percent). Of these, 3,246 are in the highest category of threat, Critically Endangered, 4,770 are Endangered and 8,912 are Vulnerable to extinction.

Almost one in four mammals are at risk of disappearing forever, according to The 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. The new study shows at least 1,141 of the 5,487 mammals on Earth are known to be threatened with extinction. Nearly 450 mammals have been listed as Endangered.

How did Australia fare?

• There are 788 Australian plants and animals which are currently listed as threatened. This includes 44 threatened species of bird, 38 threatened species of reptiles and 48 threatened species of amphibians.
• The Red List includes 349 Australian mammals of which 57 species are listed as threatened, the 9th highest number globally. This equates to over 22% of all Aussie mammals under threat, by far the highest figure amongst all the developed nations
  

Feel free to use these quotes in your stories. If you would like to speak to an expert, please don’t hesitate to contact us on (08) 8207 7415 or by email.

Dr Jane Goodall is a world-renowned primatologist, humanitarian and UN Messenger of Peace.

“It’s a tragedy that the red list continues to grow. But as I travel around the world I meet inspiring people who are reversing the extinction trends for some species and providing inspiration for others. If more members of the public become involved and their voice is heard perhaps the next list will be shorter.

There are shining examples of projects that have rescued some species from the brink of extinction such as the work of Dr Ken Johnson and his team with mala (rufous hare-wallabies) and the recovery of the Tammar wallaby, which was extinct in the wild, by Zoos SA and the South Australian Government.”

Michael Hoffmann is a mammal expert at IUCN who worked extensively on the Red List.

“Out of the 5,488 mammals that we assessed globally, some 350 species are Australian, of which 71% occur only in Australia and nowhere else on earth (ie. they are endemic). Only Indonesia has more endemic species and only Madagascar has a higher percentage of endemism (80%). In other words, Australia as a nation has a major responsibility for the conservation of the many threatened species of mammals that occur within its borders and nowhere else.

There are nearly 60 species of threatened mammal in Australia (putting it in the top 10 in terms of countries with most threatened species), which means that about 22% of the species are threatened (this is pretty much in accordance with the global percentage). However, there are 21 Extinct species, which means Australia is firmly in the number one spot in terms of countries with most mammal extinctions. There are a few others listed as Critically Endangered that may well be extinct, too, including the Lord Howe long-eared bat (Nyctophilus howensis) from Lord Howe Island. it's also worth mentioning Gilbert's potoroo (Potorous gilberti) which is endemic to south-western, Western Australia, and was long thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1994.It is currently restricted to Mt Gardner promontory in Two Peoples Bay Nature Reserve with a total population of 30-40 individuals.

There are a few recently described species that have been added (this year), including a fewcarnivorous marsupials, such as Rory's pseudantechinus (Pseudantechinus roryi), which is listed as Least Concern, and a few wallabies, such as the Cape York rock wallaby (Petrogale coenensis) and Sharman's rock wallaby (Petrogale sharmani), both of which are from Queensland and listed as Near Threatened.”

Dr Nicola Markus is Chief Conservation Officer for Bush Heritage Australia. She has spent the last 18 months writing a book on Australia’s current conservation landscape (to be published by Melbourne Uni Press in February 2009)

“Once again, a sad list of species in dire straits. The lists of the dead and dying get longer and longer each year, and it seems that few species currently being monitored are safe. Have these lists achieved anything to date? Are we getting to a stage where plants and animals that are not at threat of extinction are becoming a minority?

Australia’s track record of mammal losses is awful but hardly surprising. The majority of species on this list are small mammals that are falling victim to the damage caused by feral cats and foxes and uncontrolled pastoralism over more than two-thirds of the continent. Unless pastoralists take the initiative and change the way they manage their industry to actively protect the environment, we can expect this list to continue to grow steadily in decades to come.

In general terms, the main long-term threats to our plants and wildlife are the destruction of habitat for industry and urban development, the over-use of water and the hundreds of weeds and ferals that have made themselves at home here. As climate change now builds momentum at an alarming rate and with unpredictable consequences, the most sensible thing we can do is to protect and restore what’s left so that it stands a better chance of adapting to the changing conditions. This is where Bush Heritage Australia has found its niche. To date we are actively protecting 950,000ha of species and ecosystems across the country.

While we find ourselves all but powerless to stop climate change, we need to focus on the threats we can address. Weeds, ferals and poor water and land management practices can be tackled; never has it been more important that we do.”

Professor Chris West is CEO of the Royal Zoological Society of South Australia and Professor of Zoology, University of Adelaide and Professor of Biodiversity Conservation, Flinders University, SA.

“A new IUCN Red List is an event of great interest as people look at what is happening to their flora and fauna. It is also often a moment for disappointment; not that it isn’t a vital tool and getting better, it is, but the trends it presents are going the wrong way for concerned conservationists. The 2008 list is likely to ring and re-ring alarm bells for a roll call of species and related ecosystems that are declining to extinction.

The Red List highlights particular species in need of urgent attention and allows for informed action decisions to be made. Australia already has the longest list of extinct mammals of any country with a total of 21. Adjusted as a percentage of the overall total of native species, this comes to 6% putting Australia in equal 5th place worldwide (Haiti = 18%, Dominican Republic = 16%, Cuba and Mauritius = 9%, Réunion = 7% and Jamaica and Puerto Rico = 6%). Combine that with an additional 57 species on the threatened species list and we have an impressive record... in one arena in which we don’t want to be leading the world.

In Australia, the Tasmanian devil jumps from 'Least Concern' to 'Endangered' as a result of a 60% decline in numbers in the last 10 years caused by the transmissible facial tumour disease. Less heralded and still critically endangered are other Australian species with below 120 individuals, like the northern hairy-nosed wombat and Gilbert’s potoroo. There are signs of hope for the Tasmanian devil now with research and captive breeding underway. These small positives do not balance the ongoing sense of overall failure, but do show that with well directed effort, the tide can be turned for some species at least.

The process for assembling the Red List with its linkage to the tracking of actions for the Convention on Biodiversity, in itself focuses and galvanizes survey activity. Surveys alone aren’t enough though. What is needed is a wholesale realization that a robust biodiversity underpins healthy ecology and this in turn is essential as a component of environmental balance and sustainable human development. Understanding this interdependence will change the long-term pattern of investment and political priorities.

In the meantime the analysis continues and the scorecard for other taxa will be scrutinized. The marker species for wider environmental health, ecological services and economic value and the charismatic species that command wide public affection will trigger a chorus of demands for action. The question remains; will enough people take heed and act before it becomes too late?”