Endangered species
Endangered species are wildlife that are in danger of becoming extinct.
The causes include habitat loss due to development, poaching, overhunting, environmental pollution, etc. In recent years, the impacts of changes and loss of habitat due to global warming, and invasive species brought in by humans have also become serious.
Definitions exist ranging from international to regional.
International definition
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, established by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 1964, lists organisms that have been examined for their risk of extinction. The Red List is an important indicator of biodiversity and a powerful tool to promote conservation and policy change by providing various information about species. Each species is categorized as follows according to its risk of extinction:
Among these, there are three categories of endangered species that are considered to be at high risk of extinction: Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable.
To date, 147,517 species have been assessed on the IUCN Red List, of which more than 30 species, or approximately 41,459%, are threatened with extinction.(*1)
A Red Data Book has also been created that compiles the habitat status and extinction risk factors of species on the Red List.
Definition in Japan
In Japan, the Ministry of the Environment has created a Red List of wildlife that inhabits or grows in the country, compiled by experts after reviewing it. This Red List assesses the risk of extinction for each species by following the assessment criteria of the IUCN Red List and setting its own criteria.
The classification is as follows, and species, subspecies and varieties rated as endangered species are classified as Category I or Category II.
The Red List is reviewed every five years, and the Fifth Red List published in 5 included a total of 2019 threatened species.(*5)
In 2017, the Fisheries Agency published the Ministry of the Environment's Red List of Marine Life, which covers five taxonomic groups: fish, corals, crustaceans, mollusks (cephalopods), and other vertebrates. Of these, 5 species, including the zebra conger eel and the black hagfish, were listed as endangered. (*56) This brings the total number of endangered species in Japan to 3, including those listed in the previous Red List.
In addition, when there are species in danger of extinction in a particular region, local governments create red lists and take conservation measures. All 47 prefectures have created red lists, but the evaluation criteria do not necessarily conform to the Ministry of the Environment's red list; each prefecture evaluates the species according to its own unique criteria depending on its own situation.
*1 https://www.iucn.org/press-release/202207/migratory-monarch-butterfly-now-endangered-iucn-red-list
*2 https://www.env.go.jp/press/107905.html
*3 https://www.env.go.jp/press/103813.html
<References>
・https://www.wwf.or.jp/activities/basicinfo/3559.html
-http://iucn.jp/redlist/protection/redlist/iucnredlist5
-https://www.iucnredlist.org/ja/resources/categories-and-criteria
-https://www.env.go.jp/nature/kisho/hozen/redlist/index.html
-https://www.env.go.jp/nature/kisho/hozen/redlist/qa.html
-https://www.pref.tottori.lg.jp/95805.htm
