IUCN Red List: One-fourth of world’s mammals at risk

By William Atkins
Monday, 06 October 2008 20:14

Science - Biology

The latest Red List listed 199 species as in the “critically endangered” category.

Schipper stated, “The results paint a very bleak picture of mammals worldwide. More species are declining than expected and threats are increasing.”

The article states that these extinction threats are primarily caused by deforestation, habitat loss, and hunting.

However, new threats are compounding the problem—such as pollution.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature, according to its website, "helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. It supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world and brings governments, non-government organizations, United Nations agencies, companies and local communities together to develop and implement policy, laws and best practice."

It also states, "IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network - a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations, and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries."