
13 December 2021.
Introduction:
As per an update of IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the destruction of wetlands is causing the decline of dragonflies across the world.
Highlights
- Number of species at risk of extinction in the Red List of IUCN has exceeded 40,000 for the first time.
- Their decline is due to widespread loss of swamps, marshes, and free-flowing rivers where they breed in.
- Decline is mostly driven by expansion of unsustainable agriculture and urbanisation worldwide.
Number of species at risk
- The number of species at risk of extinction on the IUCN Red List has exceeded 40,000 for the first time.
- It now includes 142,577 species, out of which 40,084 are threatened with extinction.
About IUCN red list
- IUCN red list stands for ‘International Union for Conservation of Nature’ Red List of Threatened Species.
- It was founded in 1964.
- This list is the most comprehensive inventory of conservation status of biological species of the world.
- It uses a set of precise criteria for evaluating the extinction risk of species and subspecies.
- These criteria are relevant to all species and all the regions worldwide.
- List is recognized as the most authoritative guide, because of its scientific base.
Aim of the IUCN Red List
- IUCN red list is maintained with the aim of conveying the urgency of conservation issues to the public as well as policy makers.
- It seeks to help the international community for reducing species extinction.
- Primary goal of the Red List is to provide scientific information on the status of species and subspecies at international level.