#TreeExtinction

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IUCN Red Lists 2024: Growing Emergency for Species at Risk, Now Including the European Hedgehog

The IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Species represent an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species. Based on threat levels, species are categorized as: Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild, Extinct. A new update to these lists was published on October 28, now including 166,061 species, 46,337 of which are threatened with extinction. The global trend shows a severe decline across many species groups.

Among the most critical situations is the decline of migratory shorebird populations worldwide, with 16 species reclassified into higher threat categories. For example, the Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) and Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea), whose populations have decreased by 30%, were reclassified as Vulnerable and Near Threatened, respectively.

Other animal species are now classified as "Critically Endangered," meaning extinction could be imminent if their decline continues. Among these, the Manus Island spiny rat (Rattus detentus), last seen in 2016 in Papua New Guinea's Bismarck Archipelago, is threatened by invasive predators and habitat degradation. The Nyanga rinkhals (Hemachatus nyangensis), a snake in Zimbabwe's Eastern Highlands, faces habitat transformation and invasive plants, with no sightings since 1988. The Vietnam pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), not seen in the wild since 2000, suffers from deforestation and hunting, and ex-situ conservation programs are underway.

Corals are also struggling for survival: 44% of hard coral species are threatened, an 11% increase since 2008. Among the most affected is the Acropora genus, with 99 out of 150 species now at risk.

Another distressing case is the Western European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), now classified as Near Threatened. Its population has plummeted in the last decade due to human pressure, particularly from agricultural intensification and urban development.

For the first time, most of the world’s tree species have been included in the Red List: at least 16,425 out of 47,282 species assessed, or over a third, are at risk of extinction. Island species, in particular, face severe threats due to urban development, pests, diseases, and invasive species. Trees are essential to ecosystems; their loss would compromise the survival of thousands of other species, destabilize carbon, water, and nutrient cycles, and disrupt soil formation and climate regulation.

This update of the IUCN Red Lists is not only a barometer of global biodiversity but also emphasizes the urgent need for coordinated conservation actions to prevent our planet from losing precious elements of its biological wealth.

See you soon and Good Science!

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pic by Jörg Hempel