The mission of the IUCN is to coordinate a consultation process leading to a standardized system that will facilitate comparable geographic analyses that separates ecosystem risk assessment from the definition of conservation priorities.

The general consensus in the scientific community is that species Red Lists have been a success, leading to a 20% decline in extinction rapidity. However, some people are skeptical and insist that it will be difficult to come up with a similar set of ecosystem definitions that will survive political pressures and challenges. Overall, the ability to identify and map threatened ecosystems would be very useful according to Luz Esther Sanchez, a marine biologist and ecologist interviewed by the Washington Post. Sanchez explains that areas such as the Venezuelan Mangroves (threatened by sediment and pesticides) are often ignored in favour of more publicized issues that deal with specific endangered species.

The leading causes of the species being driven towards extinction are agricultural expansion, logging, over-exploitation and invasive alien species. Southeast Asia leads the extinction drive by planting export crops such as oil palms, commercial hardwood timber operations, agricultural conversion to rice paddies and unsustainable hunting.

While the study shows a dire situation, it also confirms that conservation efforts pay off. The results show that biodiversity would have declined by nearly 20% if conservation action had not been taken. The status of 64 mammal, bird and amphibian species has improved thanks to successful conservation programs. A few species, including the black footed ferret in the US and Canada, have been restored from captive breeding programs to the wild after the species went extinct in the wild.

What conservation needs is more resources and commitment by governments, businesses and citizens. The biodiversity conference currently being held in Nagoya Japan will hopefully end with the world’s governments reaching an international agreement on some conservation steps to be taken to try to plug the holes in decreasing species populations.

If you’d like to read more, the study will be published in the international journal called Science.

Sierra Club reports that there are at least1,600 endangered species in BC including the chocolate-eyed spotted owl, mountain caribou and marbled murrelet.  Yet only 5% of these endangered species are legally protected. Without legal protection their habitats face threats from urban sprawl, development, pollution, the introduction of exotic species and deforestation.

However, hope was offered May 31, 2010 when a Legislature Bill was put forward including legal tools which would mean that BC’s threatened wildlife is finally protected.  Sierra Club reveals that on June 10, 2010, the B.C. government established a Species At Risk Task Force with ten members who are to report to cabinet by the end of 2010.

Sierra Club BC has recently been targeting municipal governments in order to gain their support on this important issue.  So far, 13 municipalities have signed on including Burnaby, Maple Ridge, Whistler, Abbotsford and Victoria.  More are needed.

Now, Sierra Club BC is lobbying the BC government to follow Ontario’s lead and pass stand-alone legislation to solve the mishmash of regulations and laws intended to save endangered species and their habitats.

Step One of vulnerable species and ecosystems preservation  is largely complete says Environment Canada.  Tracking lists have been created which help identify which species and ecosystems are the most vulnerable and provide the basis for the Ministry of Environment’s Red and Blue lists.  Placing animals and habitats on these lists flags them as being at risk and requiring investigation.  Now we need legislation to protect the species.

If you’d like to help, Sierra Club has a section on their website listing What You Can Do.

BirdLife International is behind the Alaotra Grebe announcement in the 2010 IUCN Red List update for birds.  They suggest that the extinction of the Grebe “is another example of how human actions can have unforeseen consequences.”  Fragile wetlands are in a dangerous position as human development has caused the migration of invasive plant/animal species away from polluted habitats and dangerous environments.

One wetland bird species that’s suffering is Cuba’s Zapata Rail, which is being threatened by introduced mongooses and exotic fish.  The only nest of this bird that has ever been found was discovered by a Caribbean ornithologist named James Bond, who reputedly was the source for Ian Fleming’s famous spy’s name.

The good news is that human practices can be made positive, and a strong commitment to conservation can save endangered species.  The proof is in the Red List update, which shows that species such as the yellow-eared parrot have been helped through programs that educate local communities on proper conservation practices.

Photo Courtesy of National Zoo

Moreover, the birth of two rare White-Naped Cranes last month at the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute marked a ray of hope for endangered birds.  Once again, the National Zoo shows that it is committed to saving endangered species through science and conservation efforts such as captive breeding which increases the genetic viability of bird populations that would otherwise have been lost forever.  Captive breeding can be a valuable key to saving endangered species.

It is imperative that people reform their actions and take responsibility through conservation efforts, for constructive human actions can make for positive outcomes.