119 - Improving process and action to identify and recover ‘Extinct in the Wild’ species
119 - Improving process and action to identify and recover ‘Extinct in the Wild’ species
RECALLING Aichi Biodiversity Target 12 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), that ‘By 2020, the extinction of known threatened species has been prevented and their conservation status, particularly of those most in decline, has been improved and sustained’;
ALSO RECALLING Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 to ‘conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development’, and SDG 15 to ‘protect, restore, and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss’;
NOTING the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021–2030 as the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration;
RECOGNISING that the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (version 2019.2) has 873 species listed as Extinct, 6,127 species listed as Critically Endangered, and only 73 species listed as Extinct In the Wild despite extensive collections of ex situ populations for highly imperiled species of animal, plants and fungi globally;
ACKNOWLEDGING the vital role of the world’s zoological institutions and botanical gardens in providing valuable care for these ‘Extinct in the Wild’ species;
RECOGNISING that some species previously listed as Extinct in the Wild have been downlisted in the IUCN Red List as the result of effectively integrated and implemented reintroduction programmes as well as additional ex situ roles that are stated in the IUCN Species Survival Commission Guidelines on the Use of Ex situ Management for Species Conservation;
RECOGNISING that Red List status is important in prioritising conservation strategies and actions; and
CONCERNED that some species listed as Critically Endangered and lacking the tag ‘Possibly Extinct in the wild’, should now be tagged as such or reclassified as ‘Extinct in the Wild’, and concerned that the lack of such classification may preclude focused attention on such species before ex situ populations dwindle or become unsuitable for reintroduction into the wild;
1. REQUESTS the Species Survival Commission (SSC) to continue valuable efforts to assess species that might warrant listing as Extinct in the Wild or Critically Endangered (Possibly Extinct in the Wild) according to the guidelines in IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, and to recognise the role of populations outside historic ranges resulting from assisted colonisation, as defined in the Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations in these assessments;
2. ENCOURAGES Members, in particular government agencies and non-governmental organisations, and Commissions to develop collaborative and ambitious strategies, action plans and targets to initiate the responsible re-establishment of ‘Extinct in the Wild’ species in the wild by 2030, with significant demonstrable progress by 2024, as a significant contribution towards achieving a post-2020 strategy for biodiversity;
3. URGES that conservation translocation efforts of ‘Extinct in the Wild’ species be conducted in strict accordance with the IUCN Guidelines for Reintroductions and Other Conservation Translocations;
4. URGES zoological and botanical gardens, government agencies and other relevant institutions serving as custodians for ‘Extinct in the Wild’ species to lead public awareness of their plight, to help develop collaborative conservation translocation strategies, and to contribute individuals for releases while minimising the generations of species kept in such institutions prior to translocation; and
5. CALLS ON donors to support efforts that aim to assess the status of species according to the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, and especially to help resource efforts that work to re-establish species in the wild.
