Conservation: to help prioritise action, for example, in terms of ecosystem restoration and land use practices, and as a means to reward good and improved ecosystem management.We anticipate that the Red List of Ecosystems will be of great value to a number of different sectors, including: How can the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems be important for you? A standard method for comparing ecosystems risk of collapse.Defined by criteria that reflect varying levels of risk and loss of function, and wich are easily quantified and monitored.Clear about how risk assessments can inform conservation, land use and investment priorities.Able to use historic and present-day data.Applicable from local and global, and from very small (fine resolution) to very large (coarse resolution) scales.Applicable to terrestrial, marine, freshwater and subterranean systems.Transparent, objective and scientifically rigorous.Consistent with and complementary to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™, which measures extinction risk.Easily understood by policy-makers and the public.The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria are: This will be measured by assessing losses in area, degradation or other major changes such as land conversion. Assessments determine whether an ecosystem is not facing imminent risk of collapse, or whether it is vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered. The IUCN Red List of Ecosystems Categories and Criteria is a global standard for how we assess the status of ecosystems, applicable at local, national, regional and global levels. please visit What is the Red List of Ecosystems? It is supported by the RLE Thematic Group of CEM, which is a group of volunteer experts that undertake diverse duties in support of the RLE objectives.įor key documents, published assessments, ongoing initiatives, tools, etc. It is governed by two interacting committees with specific functions: (i) the Steering Committee, and (ii) a Committee for Scientific Standards (CSS). The RLE is jointly coordinated by IUCN CEM and GEMP. Everyone knows that coral reefs are in danger, and that the rainforests are disappearing – or do we? What do we actually know in scientific terms? How much of these ecosystems are left, and how likely are they to disappear? IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature is developing a new tool to provide answers to these questions – the IUCN Red List of Ecosystems.