Measuring trends in extinction risk: a review of two decades of development and application of the Red List Index

The Red List Index (RLI) is an indicator of the average extinction risk of groups of species and reflects trends in this through time. It is calculated from the number of species in each category on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, with trends influenced by the number moving between categories when reassessed owing to genuine improvement or deterioration in status. The global RLI is aggregated across multiple taxonomic groups and can be disaggregated to show trends for subsets of species (e.g. migratory species), or driven by particular factors (e.g. international trade). National RLIs have been generated through either repeated assessments of national extinction risk in each country or through disaggregating the global index and weighting each species by the proportion of its range in each country. The RLI has achieved wide policy uptake, including by the Convention on Biological Diversity and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Future priorities include expanding its taxonomic coverage, applying the RLI to the goals and targets of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, incorporating uncertainty in the underlying Red List assessments, integrating into national RLIs the impact of a country on species’ extinction risk abroad, and improving analysis of the factors driving trends.

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/97762

Citation

Butchart Stuart H. M., Akçakaya H. Resit, Berryman Alex J., Brooks Thomas M., Burfield Ian J., Chanson Janice, Dias Maria P., Donaldson John S., Hermes Claudia, Hilton-Taylor Craig, Hoffmann Mike, Luedtke Jennifer A., Martin Rob, McDougall Amy, Neam Kelsey, Polidoro Beth, Raimondo Domitilla, Rodrigues Ana S. L., Rondinini Carlo, Rutherford Claire, Scott Tom, Simkins Ashley T., Stuart Simon N. and Vine Jemma 2025Measuring trends in extinction risk: a review of two decades of development and application of the Red List IndexPhil. Trans. R. Soc. B38020230206 http://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2023.0206

Publisher

The Royal Society Publishers

DOI

10.1098/rstb.2023.0206

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cE3c - Artigos em Revistas Internacionais

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