What is Red Data Book? What is its Significance and Advantages?

‘Red Data Book’ is the most popular term used to describe the IUCN Red List, published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1964. It is also known as the Red List, Red List of Threatened Species, or just the Red Data Book. It consists of a list of endangered or threatened species within a political division (country, province, continent) and assesses the risk of extinction faced by such species.

A Brief about the Red Data Book:

The goal of the Red Data Book is to provide scientific information about the species and subspecies that are facing the risk of extinction. It also aims to spread awareness about the need to preserve such species and to maintain biodiversity across the regions of the globe.

Institutions such as BirdLife International, The Institute of Zoology (sub-division of the Zoological Society of London), The World Conservation Monitoring Centre, and others serve as the species assessors for the IUCN. The IUCN, which is headquartered in Cambridge, England, aims to re-evaluate the category of endangered species every ten years, or every five years if possible.

As per the 2023 report, 150,388 species have been surveyed, out of which 42,108 have been categorised as species that face the possibility of extinction because of human activities.

History of the Red Data Book

The idea for the Red Data Book was conceptualised by Sir Peter Markham Scott (1909-1989) in 1963. Sir Scott was an ornithologist, conservationist, artist, and naval officer by profession, whose fascination with wildlife, flora, and fauna stemmed from an early age. Sir Scott was inspired by the adventures of his father, Captain Robert Falcon Scott, who was an officer in the Royal Navy. He is most famously known for leading two expeditions to the Antarctic in the 1900s and early 1910s, the last of which he couldn’t see being completed.

The contributions of Sir Peter Scott to wildlife conservation are immeasurable. He established the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust in Slimbridge in 1946. He was also one of the founding fathers of the WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and even designed its iconic logo. He was a decorated athlete and military officer who won the bronze medal in the 1936 Summer Olympics in sailing. In 1973, he was knighted for his contributions to Wildlife Conservation and was also awarded the John Paul Getty Wildlife Conservation Prize.

Conservationist Noel Simon published the first two volumes of the Red Lists in 1966, with the first centered around mammals and the second around birds. The third volume, published by René E Honegger in 1968, was centered around amphibians and reptiles.

In 1969, the first Red Data List for the layman non-specialist public was published, titled The Red Book: Wildlife in Danger. This issue covered various groups but was primarily focused on Mammals and Birds, with smaller sections covering reptiles, amphibians, fish, and plants.

Categories of Species listed in the Red Data Books:

The category determining the level of danger a species is determined by segregating them into different levels. Each of these levels symbolises the abundance of a species along with its threats in a particular area. The categories are as follows:

Not Evaluated (NE): These species have not been assessed and thus, data about them is not available.

Data Deficient (DD): The data regarding these species is not sufficient to determine their risk of extinction.

Least Concern (LC): These species are so widespread and abundant that no concern regarding their conservation needs to be given.

Near Threatened (NT): These species do not face any immediate danger but can face the risk of extinction in the near future.

Vulnerable (VU): These species meet one of the 5 Red List criteria and are likely to face the risk of unnatural (human-caused) extinction in the future.

Endangered (EN): The risk of extinction for these species is very high, and immediate efforts must be made for their conservation.

Critically Endangered (CR): Very few of these species remain, and these are likely to perish without desperate measures being undertaken to increase their abundance.

Extinct in the Wild (EW): These species no longer exist in their natural habitat and only exist in captivity, as presumed after multiple surveys.

Extinct (EX): These species no longer exist at all, anywhere on this planet.

Any species that falls in the category of vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered is considered threatened. Birdlife International even has a sub-category called “Possibly Extinct” (PE), which is typically used for species that have either gone extinct in the wild or are so critically endangered that they might as well inevitably go extinct.

Criticism of IUCN’s Red Data Book:

The IUCN met criticism in 1997 due to the secrecy surrounding its sources of data. This controversy led to the IUCN working with better and more reliable data sources, and it has since made its data very transparent.

In 2002, an article published in the Trends in Ecology and Evolution suggested that the Red Data Book and similar lists have been manipulated by government bodies to push false agendas regarding environmental conservation. This further exploited the environment by diverting attention from the areas that actually need conservation.

The November 2016 issue of Science Advances featured an article that claimed that the methodology used by IUCN to distribute species in various categories is highly inconsistent and poorly researched. The article suggested that certain species fear greater threats in certain areas under certain conditions and also alleged that the Red Lists do not account for varying factors that might influence the threat faced by most species.

The Red List Index:

Based on the IUCN’s Red List, the Red List Index is an indicator of the planet’s changing biodiversity. It defines the conservation status of major species and subspecies and marks trends in extinction over time. RLIs have been used to monitor the patterns in extinction threats faced by a certain taxonomic group and have served as a basis for the preparation of future Red Lists.

Conclusion:

Now that you are aware of ‘what is Red Data Book’, you can easily discern the advantages of Red Data Books and their significance in Environmental Protection Efforts. Red Data Books have served as an internationally recognized and respected source of information for wildlife conservationists and the general public about the dangers faced by the multitude of species that we share the earth with. At this point, we are confident that you will be able to define Red Data Books and understand their significance.

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