IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

2002 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species database

IUCN - The World Conservation Union, through its Species Survival
Commission (SSC) has for four decades been assessing the conservation
status of species, subspecies, varieties and even selected
subpopulations on a global scale in order to highlight taxa threatened
with extinction, and therefore promote their conservation. Although
today we are operating in a very different political, economic, social
and ecological world from that when the first IUCN Red Data Book was
produced, the SSC remains firmly committed to providing the world with
the most objective, scientifically-based information on the current
status of globally threatened biodiversity. The taxa assessed for the
IUCN Red List are the bearers of genetic diversity and the building
blocks of ecosystems, and information on their conservation status and
distribution provides the foundation for making informed decisions
about preserving biodiversity at local to global levels.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species provides taxonomic,
conservation status and distribution information on taxa that have
been evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This
system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and
the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight
those taxa that are facing a higher risk of global extinction
(i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and
Vulnerable). The IUCN Red List also includes information on taxa that
are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot
be evaluated because of insufficient information (i.e. are Data
Deficient); and on taxa that are either close to meeting the
threatened thresholds or that would be threatened were it not for an
ongoing taxon-specific conservation program (i.e. Near Threatened).

The data set provided does not include any species listed as Least
Concern (i.e. common and not threatened species) nor any which have
not yet been assessed (i.e. Not Evaluated). The only taxonomic groups,
which have been comprehensively assessed, are the birds and
mammals. The vast majority of plant taxa listed in the 1997 IUCN Red
List of Threatened Plants have not yet been evaluated against the
revised Red List Criteria and are therefore not included here.

Data URL: "http://www.redlist.org/search/search-basic.html"
Information obtained from "http://www.redlist.org"