IUCN Red Data Book Categories

EXTINCT (X): No longer existing in the wild.

ENDANGERED (E): In immediate danger of extinction if factors causing decline continue operating.

VULNERABLE (V): Likely to become endangered soon if factors causing decline continue operating.

CRITICALLY RARE (R): Not endangered or vulnerable at present, but might be at risk by localised threats.

INDETERMINATE (I): A temporary grouping when not enough information is available to put into endangered, vulnerable or critically rare categories, but it is reasonably certain that the species does indeed belong in one of these categories. Further data are needed to determine the status.

UNCERTAIN (U): A temporary grouping for unconfirmed reports suggesting inclusion in endangered, vulnerable or critically rare categories.

NO LONGER THREATENED: No longer included in the above categories due to an increase in population sizes or numbers, or due to the discovery of more populations or more individuals.

New IUCN Red Data List Categories

The above categorizations are not precisely defined, and a new catagorization has been made by the IUCN. The aim is to be uniform, objective, transparent. Consequently the new definitions are long and involved, but in future, all catagorizations will specifically state their reasoning (in summary as A2 or B3 based on the criteria invovolved).

The Protea Atlas Project is currently updating the Red Data List status for all our proteas. If you want to help, please contact us.

The New Categories are (these are condensed summaries - please see the IUCN web site for fuller details):

EXTINCT (EX)
A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died.

EXTINCT IN THE WILD (EW)
A taxon is Extinct in the wild when it is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population (or populations) well outside the past range. A taxon is presumed extinct in the wild if exhaustive surveys in its known habitat in its historical range have failed to record an individual.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (CR)
A taxon is Critically Endangered when it is facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the immediate future.

A. Range reduction of 80% over 3 generations or 10 years;

B. Occurrence of less than 100sq km or occupancy of less than 10sq km and decline in populations;

C. Less than 250 plants and decline;

D. Less than 50 mature plants;

E. Probability of extinction of 50% in 10 years or 3 generations.

ENDANGERED (EN)
A taxon is Endangered when it is not Critically Endangered but is facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future.

A. Range reduction of 50% over 3 generations or 10 years;

B. Occurrence of less than 5 000sq km or occupancy of less than 500sq km and decline in populations;

C. Less than 2 500 plants and decline;

D. Less than 250 mature plants;

E. Probability of extinction of 20% in 20 years or 5 generations.

VULNERABLE (VU)
A taxon is Vulnerable when it is not Critically Endangered or Endangered but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future.

A. Range reduction of 20% over 3 generations or 10 years;

B. Occurrence of less than 20 000 sq km or occupancy of less than 2 000 sq km and decline in populations;

C. Less than 10 000 plants and decline;

D. Less than 1 000 mature plants, or low occupancy (<100km2), or less than 5 locations;

E. Probability of extinction of 10% in 100 years.

LOWER RISK (LR)
A taxon is Lower Risk when it has been evaluated, does not fall into the categories Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable. There are three subcategories:

Conservation Dependent (cd). Taxa which are the focus of a continuing conservation programme, and which would become threatened if such actions stopped.

Near Threatened (nt). Taxa which do not qualify for Conservation Dependent, but which are close to qualifying for Vulnerable.

Least Concern (lc). Taxa which do not qualify for Conservation Dependent or Near Threatened.

DATA DEFICIENT (DD)
A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make an assessment based on its distribution and population status.

NOT EVALUATED (NE)
A taxon is Not Evaluated when it is has not yet been assessed against the criteria.

If you want more information about the new categories please visit IUCN Species Survival Commission.

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