The ICUN´s latest update has added 4,807 species to the red list -- an increase of 4 percent since the last complete assessment in 1998 -- bringing the total assessed species to 70,294. [break]
The red list released on July 2 claims that Santa Cruz pupfish, a lizard known as the Cape Verde Giant Skink which was last seen in 1912, has already become extinct, while many other freshwater shrimps, cone snails and the Yangtze Finless Porpose are fast declining.
While the red list has stoked concerns among environmentalists, it has also led to a global debate with the issue being widely discussed in social media.
According to Jane Smart, global director of ICUN biodiversity conservation group, the latest information on the state of the world´s biodiversity should motivate the world to start well targeted and efficient conservation efforts.
"We must use the knowledge to the fullest if we are serious about stopping the extinction crisis that continues to threaten life on earth," he said.
Remarkably, the update includes the first global reassessment of conifers. According to the report, 34 percent of the world´s cedars, cypresses, firs and other cone-bearing plants are now threatened with extinction.
The update states that the conservation status of 33 conifer species has declined. That includes Pinus radiate - the world´s most widely planted pine valued for its rapid growth and pulp qualities.
The tree has moved from ´Least Concern´, a category used for species at relatively low extinction risks, to ´Endangered´, with main threats including feral goats and attacks by an invasive pathogen.
Another conifer species previously classified as Least Concern, Cedrus atlantica, native to the Atlas Mountains of Algeria and Morocco, is now endangered due to overexploitation. Its reduced population is further threatened by various pests.
The report further stresses that the white-lipped Peccary, which is a member of the pig family found in central South America has declined by 89 percent in Costa Rica and 84 percent in Mexico and Gautemala and is now listed as vulnerable. Hunting and habitat loss as well as mysterious disappearance of the species have led to the decline.
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