We are all becoming more aware about the biodiversity crisis - we are currently in the 6th large-scale extinction event on earth. Current extinction rates are up to 1000 times higher than the natural ‘background’ rate. We know that many species and habitats are threatened, mostly due to human activity, and unsustainable rates of consumption by an ever-increasing human population.
But what does any of this mean?
Often the terms ‘threatened’ and ‘endangered’ are used interchangeably, and it is important to understand these terminologies when talking about the IUCN Red List. Established in 1964, Red List is coordinated by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and is the most comprehensive gathering of data to understand the extinction risk status of the world’s animal, plant and fungal species. To date, over 160,000 species across all groups have been assessed. The Red List, sometimes referred to as the Barometer of Life, is the best indicator we have of the health of the world’s biodiversity. It is also critical in directing conservation efforts and helping prioritise where our limited resources are directed. This is particularly pertinent for amphibians, which compared with other animal taxa are underfunded and have relatively few people working on them, and yet are the most threatened vertebrate Class on Earth.
The Red List helps inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation and policy change, guiding protection of the natural resources we all need to survive. It provides information about range, population size, habitat and ecology, use and/or trade, threats, and conservation actions that will help inform necessary conservation decisions. The IUCN Red List is used by government agencies, wildlife departments, conservation-related non-governmental organisations (NGOs), natural resource planners, educational organisations, students, and the business community.
“The IUCN Red List tells us where
we ought to be concerned and
where the urgent needs are to do
something to prevent the despoliation
of this world. It is a great agenda
for the work of conservationists.”
Sir David Attenborough
Currently, there are more than 166,000 species on The IUCN Red List, with more than 46,300 species assessed as threatened with extinction, including 44% of reef building corals, 41% of amphibians, 38% of trees, 37% of sharks and rays, 34% of conifers, 26% of mammals, 26% of freshwater fishes and 12% of birds. The term threatened incorporates the highest threat status levels, namely ‘Critically Endangered’, ‘Endangered’, and ‘Vulnerable’. Additional categories include ‘Near Threatened’, ‘Extinct’, ‘Extinct in the Wild’, ‘Least Concern’, ‘Data Deficient’ and ‘Not Evaluated’. Data Deficient species are those for which we simply do not have enough information to accurately make an assessment, and ‘Not Evaluated’ includes newly described species that have not yet been assessed. This ‘ladder towards extinction’ provides an indication of how close to extinction a species is. Directing conservation efforts towards those species that are most highly threatened not only helps to prioritise limited resources, but many highly threatened species also act as ‘umbrella’ or ‘flagship’ species and by protecting them and their habitats, many other species can be protected too. The Red List also plays a key role in identifying important areas to protect, for example, Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), Alliance for Zero Extinction Sites (AZEs), and Important Bird Areas (IBAs).
There are several ways in which assessment outcomes are derived, but these are all standardised and follow a strict set of criteria and are usually carried out by taxon experts from the various regions around the world and coordinated through 186 Species Survival Commission (SCC) Specialist Groups. For amphibians, there is only one broad specialist group (the Amphibian Specialist Group) for the entire Class, compared to, for example, 36 mammal specialist groups. Over 10,000 voluntary experts contribute to these groups and help produce threat status assessments. Over 1000 people have contributed to amphibian assessments in the last decade, most recently producing the 2nd Global Amphibian Assessment (GAA2) and the State of the World’s Amphibians report. This work assessed the extinction risk of 8,011 species worldwide. Key outcomes from this include the following:
41 % of amphibians are globally threatened with extinction, making them the most threatened vertebrate group.
A further 58.4% are considered Near Threatened or Data Deficient (which will likely include a high proportion of threatened species.
2 in 5 amphibians are threatened with extinction.
The number of amphibian extinctions could be as high as 222.
Habitat loss (especially caused by agriculture) remains the most common threat to amphibians, affecting 93% of threatened species, followed by 29% of species affected by the emerging threat of Climate Change, and 22% impacted by Disease.
The Red List Index provides an idea of how threatened a group of species is over time. For most groups the trajectories are not good and continues to decline for amphibians in particular. Fewer than 2% of amphibian species globally have shown an improvement in their status since 2004, making it evident that investments in amphibian conservation must be significantly scaled up to reverse the ongoing extinction crisis. These trends are mirrored in southern Africa, where we are currently finalising Red List assessments for 246 frog species from 10 counties in the region. Of South Africa’s 135 species, 26% fall into the threatened categories, with habitat loss and transformation remaining the primary threat. Four species are considered Critically Endangered, 15 are Endangered, 10 Vulnerable, 5 Near Threatened, and one Data Deficient (down from 11 previously Not Evaluated and 4 Data Deficient). 74% of southern Africa’s frog species are endemic to the region, highlighting just how important it is to protect them.
The outcomes of these recent assessments (to be published in 2025) have been pivotal in guiding our project work at Anura Africa. We are a partner of the Amphibian Specialist Group and our founder, Dr Jeanne Tarrant, is the regional chair of the ASG and helped coordinate the assessments with inputs from over 20 amphibian experts, researchers and practitioners working across the 10 countries in the southern African region. Since 2004, 17 new species have been described from South Africa alone. Many of these were listed as either Not Evaluated or Data Deficient. Happily, we were able to assess all but one (Branch’s Rain Frog, Breviceps branchi) of these with a threat status. Over 40% of priority species have undergone a category change since the previous assessments in 2016. Some of these are “non-genuine” changes due to improved knowledge on distribution, for example the Moonlight Mountain Toadlet, Capensibufo selenophos, which through the work of the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Bionerds, has expanded the known range and been able to move the category of this species from Data Deficient to Endangered.
Assessments provides guidance on research and conservation needs for each species, and it is this that is helping direct Anura Africa’s projects. We aim to address critical gaps in amphibian conservation in South Africa and the region, and the Red List provides the best guidance on which species to select. Our flagship project, ‘Learning to Listen’ (more on this next time!) is focused on the Endangered Long-toed Tree Frog, Leptopelis xenodactylus, which is a habitat specialist found in grassland wetlands of the midlands and southern Drakensberg in KwaZulu-Natal. Taking the outcomes of the updated Red List assessment, our project on this species aims to refine spatial planning, improve knowledge on population sizes through acoustic monitoring and provide sound management advise based on improved understanding of habitat requirements and wetland health assessments.
Another outcome of the Red List assessments are Conservation Needs Assessments (CNA), assisted by Amphibian Ark (AArk), which prioritise species requiring ex situ, or captive breeding interventions. From the most recent assessments, five threatened frog species have been identified as needing urgent recovery projects. This work supports the eventual reintroduction in suitable habitats, helping to restore populations in the wild. These CNAs provide a basis for the development of holistic conservation action plans that combine in situ and ex situ actions, as appropriate. These assessments allow us to maximize the impact of limited conservation resources by identifying which measures could best serve those species that require assistance.
Anura Africa's vision is to use research and conservation management to promote the resilience of ecosystems in multi-use landscapes. We advocate for amphibians as indicators of microhabitat health within larger conservation areas. By focusing on these indicators, Anura Africa aims to ensure the health of entire ecosystems, benefiting a wide range of species and ecological functions.
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