Three decades of classifying threatened species: lessons learned from and about the IUCN Red List criteria for quantifying extinction risk.

Authors

H Resit Akçakaya, E J Milner-Gulland, Mike Hoffmann, Helen M Regan, Ilona Naujokaitis-Lewis, Andre E Punt, Kevin J Gaston, David A Keith, Stuart H M Butchart, Simon N Stuart, Nigel J Collar, Moreno Di Marco, Monika Bohm, Alex J Berryman, David P Mallon, Axel Hochkirch, Nicholas K Dulvy, Malin Rivers, Thomas M Brooks, James R S Westrip, Jon Paul Rodríguez, Craig Hilton-Taylor, Janet Scott, Simon Tarr, Sophie H Ledger, Christi Linardich

Published in

Proceedings. Biological sciences. Volume 293. Issue 2074. Jul 01, 2026.

Abstract

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the most widely used global system for assessing species' extinction risk, has become a foundational source of information for conservation management, policy and research. Since the adoption of quantitative extinction risk criteria more than three decades ago, the Red List has expanded substantially in scope and influence, informing decisions ranging from species conservation and protected area designation to international agreements, corporate risk assessments and global biodiversity indicators. Given its central role, maintaining scientific rigour, transparency and trust in the Red List system is essential. Feedback from users, emerging from evolving applications and scientific advances, has shaped the Red List throughout. At the same time, the Red List has been subject to recurring critiques, some of which stem from persistent misconceptions about its purpose, design and appropriate use. To address these, we review the history and development of the Red List system, clarify the strengths of its design, delineate the contexts for which the system was and was not intended, and elucidate the circumstances under which it may be modified. Finally, we outline pathways for researchers and users to contribute to ongoing improvements and discuss potential future directions for evolution of the Red List.

PMID:
42379591
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 01 Jul 2026.

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