IUCN’s Red List puts focus back on world's endangered species

With an update of the wildlife Red List, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has warned that several species in the world are in acute danger due to numerous reasons.

The list says nearly two in five sharks have been threatened with extinction due to overfishing and Indonesia’s Komodo dragons, which are the world’s largest living lizards, have also become “endangered” due to the rise in sea levels.

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The destructive effect of human activity on the natural world seems to be deepening as about 28 per cent of the 138,000 species, which are assessed by the global conservation body for its survival watchlist, are now at risk of getting extinct.

According to the IUCN, climate change has become a direct threat to global wildlife populations along with decades-old factors, such as overexploitation, habitat loss and illegal trade.

Komodo dragons, which are found only in the World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighbouring Flores, are increasingly threatened by the impacts of climate change as the sea levels are expected to shrink its tiny habitat by at least 30 per cent in the next 45 years.

The latest update of the Red List for Threatened Species also highlights the potential for restoration. It says after a decade of efforts to curb overexploitation, four commercially fished tuna species are pulling back from a slide towards extinction.