Europe raises red flag on future of animal species
The European Red List, a review of the conservation
status of some 6,000 European species, is hot off the press and the
results are not good. The data, which are compiled with the support of
European Commission funding, show that 14% of dragonflies, 11% of
beetles and 9% of butterflies are at risk of extinction within Europe.
Even more alarming is the fact that some of these species are threatened
with extinction at the global level. These species have been added to
the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of
Threatened Species (TM).
Many of the world's dragonflies make their home in Europe, in
particular in the south of France and parts of the Balkan Peninsula;
three of the 'Most Threatened' dragonflies are found in Greece and the
surrounding area. Of the 130 dragonfly species under review, 14% are at
risk and 5% are threatened with global extinction. The data point out
that another 11% are listed as 'Near Threatened within Europe'.
So what is responsible for this alarming problem? Experts say the
dragonflies' wetland habitats are drying up due to a combination of
higher numbers of hot and dry summers and increased water extraction for
drinking and irrigation.
In total, 431 beetle species that are found only in Europe were
assessed and the data indicate that 46 species are threatened in Europe,
29 species are threatened with global extinction, and 56 species are
listed as 'Near Threatened within Europe'. New to the IUCN Red List is
the saproxylic beetle, which is a pivotal player in the recycling of
nutrients. The loss of mature trees and logging activity has been
identified as the culprits behind its looming demise.
The review also shows that 31% of the 435 butterfly species that
call Europe home are shrinking in number, and 9% are already at risk of
extinction. Nearly a third of Europe's butterflies cannot be found
anywhere else on the planet, and 22 of these endemic species are
globally threatened.
'Nature's future is our future, and if it fails, we will fail too,'
underlined Janez Potocnik, the EU's Environment Commissioner. 'So when a
Red List like this raises the alarm, the implications for our
ecosystems and for our own future are clear. This is a worrying
decline.'
The Commission is already developing its position for a new
international target to halt the decline in biodiversity. This will be
examined at the next Conference of the Parties of the Convention on
Biological Diversity which will be held in the Japanese city of Nagoya
in October of this year.
For her part, the Director of the IUCN Biodiversity Conservation
Group, Jane Smart, said: 'When talking about threatened species, people
tend to think of larger, more charismatic creatures such as pandas or
tigers, but we mustn't forget that the small species on our planet are
just as important, and are also in need of conservation action.
Butterflies, for instance, play a hugely pivotal role as pollinators in
the ecosystems in which they live.'
The European Red List uses the same criteria as the inclusive IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species (TM) but is limited to Europe. The
reviews include assessments on mammals, amphibians, reptiles, freshwater
fish, dragonflies and butterflies, as well as some groups of beetles,
molluscs and vascular plants.
Reviewers assign species to one of eight categories of threat and
those that fall under 'Critically Endangered', 'Endangered' or
'Vulnerable' are collectively described as 'Threatened'.
For more information, please visit:
European Red List
International Union for Conservation of Nature
Source: Community R&D Information Service (CORDIS)