Lizards “Komodo varan” and many sharks are threatened with extinction! | Science and Technology | The latest discoveries and studies by DW Arabia | DW
Indonesia’s “Komodo dragon”, whose habitats have shrunk due to rising water levels, was classified as “threatened” in today’s update, Saturday (September 4, 2021), of the IUCN Red List, which also warned that poaching threatens almost two out of every five sharks are extinct.
And there are approx 28 percent of 138 A thousand species are estimated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature to be at risk of extinction in the wild forever, as the devastating impact of human activity on the natural world increases. But the latest update to the Red List of Threatened Species also shows that four species of commercially caught tuna could avoid extinction after decades of efforts to curb their overexploitation.
The improvement is particularly visible for Atlantic bluefin tuna, which has been reclassified from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’. This type of tuna, a staple of sushi in Japan, was evaluated for the last time in the year 2011. “These Red List assessments show how closely our lives and livelihoods are linked to biodiversity,” IUCN Director-General Bruno Oberle said in a statement. The main message emerging from the International Union for Conservation of Nature conference held in Marseille, France, is that the extinction of species and the destruction of ecosystems represent an existential threat no less serious than the phenomenon of global warming.
Bluefin tuna reclassified from ‘endangered’ to ‘least concern’
“scary idea”
At the same time, climate change casts a darker shadow than ever on the future of many species, especially endemic animals and plants that live uniquely on small islands or in some biodiversity hotspots. Komodo dragons, the world’s largest living lizards, can only be found in the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Komodo National Park and neighboring Flores.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature said the species were “increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change”. Sea level rise is expected to reduce the area of their small habitat by 30 percent at least over the years45 arrival. “The idea that these prehistoric animals are one step closer to extinction, partly due to climate change, is terrifying,” said Andrew Terry, director of conservation at the Zoological Society of London. He added that this decline in their numbers was “a clarion call from nature to put them at the center of the decision-making process” during the United Nations climate talks in Glasgow.
‘The risk of general extinction is increasing’
Meanwhile, the most comprehensive study of sharks and rays has found this 37 percent of 1200 The species has been assessed and is now classified as critically endangered. Nicolas Dolphy, a professor at Simon Fraser University and lead author of a study released Monday based on the Red List assessment, said there are about a third more endangered species now than there were seven years ago. “The conservation status of the group as a whole continues to deteriorate and the overall risk of extinction is increasing at an alarming rate,” he told AFP.
Among the most endangered are five species of saw-toothed sharks, or “carpenter sharks” that stick their snouts into fishing gear, and the shortfin mako shark. Cartilaginous fish, a group mostly made up of sharks and rays, “are important to ecosystems, economies and cultures,” Sonia Fordham, president of the nonprofit Shark Advocacy International, told AFP. The oceans are at risk and we are losing opportunities for sustainable fishing, tourism, traditions and long-term food security.”
Reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations show that approx 800 Thousands of tons of sharks are caught, either intentionally or opportunistically, every year, but research estimates that the actual number is two to four times higher.
The black shark is also endangered
“Sixth species extinction”
On Saturday, the International Union for Conservation of Nature officially launched the “green status,” the first global standard for assessing species recovery and measuring conservation impacts. “It makes invisible conservation work visible,” Molly Grace, a professor at the University of Oxford and co-chair of Putting Green, said at a press conference on Saturday.
The new metric assesses the extent to which species have declined or recovered compared to historical levels, as well as the effectiveness of past and potential future conservation measures. Efforts to halt the sharp decline in the number and diversity of animals and plants have largely failed.
And in general in 2019United Nations biodiversity experts have warned that one million species are on the brink of extinction, heralding the possibility of a sixth mass extinction within 500 A million years. “Trends show that we are between 100 and 1,000 times higher than normal extinction rates (…) If it continues to rise at this rate, we will soon face a major crisis,” Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the division that manages the IUCN Red List, he told AFP.
Craig Hilton Taylor, who is in charge of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, has warned that the world is approaching the “sixth extinction” of species because it will not be possible to save them all in light of the acceleration of their extinction.
MAH/SM (AFP)
