The new list of threatened species includes Arctic seals, and the majority of bird species worldwide

Arctic seals More than half of them are being pushed to the brink of extinction due to climate change Bird species Worldwide, the world is under pressure from deforestation and agricultural expansion, according to an annual assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

One bright spot is green sea turtles, which have made a dramatic recovery thanks to decades of conservation efforts, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said Friday when it released its latest report. Red List of Threatened Species.

Rima Jabado, vice-chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission, told The Associated Press that while many animals are increasingly at risk of extinction forever, the updated list shows how species can come back from the brink with dedicated efforts.

“Hope and anxiety go hand in hand in this work,” Jabado wrote via email. “The same determination that brought the green sea turtle back can be reflected in small, everyday actions – supporting sustainable choices, backing conservation initiatives, and urging leaders to follow through on their environmental promises.”

The list is updated every year by teams of scientists who evaluate data on creatures around the world. The scope of the work is enormous and important for science, said Andrew Farnsworth, a visiting scientist at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology who studies bird migration and was not involved in the IUCN report.

“Every time there’s a review, every time there’s a review, there’s more information, there’s more ability to answer questions” about the species, some of which are still largely a mystery to researchers, Farnsworth said.

Loss of sea ice

Because all of the Arctic’s native marine mammals — seals, whales and polar bears — depend on the habitat provided by sea ice, they are all at risk as it diminishes due to human-caused climate change, said Kit Kovacs, co-chair of the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Specialist Group, which focuses on seals.

The three species highlighted in the latest IUCN report — harp, masked and bearded seals — were moved to a classification of greater concern in the latest update, indicating they are increasingly threatened with extinction, Kovacs said.

Same thing Melting glaciers and sea ice Destruction of seal habitats “will generally lead to an escalation in extreme weather events, which are already affecting people around the world,” Kovacs wrote.

“Working to help seals is like working to help humanity when it comes to climate change,” Kovacs said.

Global bird decline

The update also highlighted Madagascar, West Africa and Central America, where the black-capped hornbill and the tail-swaying northern nightingale have been moved to near-threatened status. These are three specific birds that are in trouble, but their numbers are declining for about three-fifths of the world’s birds.

“The decline in numbers of three out of every five of the world’s bird species shows how deep the biodiversity crisis is and how urgently it is for governments to take action to which they have committed under multiple agreements and conventions,” said Ian Burfield, Global Science Coordinator at BirdLife International.

Stuart Butchart, chief scientist at BirdLife International, said tropical deforestation is one of a “frustrating litany of threats” to birds, a list that includes agricultural expansion and intensification, competition from invasive species and climate change.

“The fact that 61% of the world’s birds are declining is a wake-up call that we cannot ignore,” Butchart said.

The annual UN climate summit is scheduled to be held in November in Belém, Brazil, with much attention given to the Amazon region and the value of tropical forests to people and animals. But Farnsworth, of Cornell University, said he was “not entirely confident” that world leaders would take decisive action to protect vulnerable bird species.

“I like to think that things like birds are not partisan, and you can find common ground,” he said. “But it’s not easy.”

Green sea turtle

One success story is the recovery of green sea turtles in many parts of the world’s oceans. Experts see this as a bright spot because it demonstrates the effectiveness of human interventions, such as legal protection and conservation programmes.

However, “It is important to note that sea turtle conservation efforts can take decades before they realize the fruits of that labor,” said Justin Perrault, vice president of research at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, Florida, who was not involved in the IUCN report.

Nicola Belcher, executive director of the Marine Research Foundation, said the overall success of green sea turtles should be celebrated and used as an example with other species, some of which, such as hawksbill and leatherback turtles, do not do nearly as well.

Even for green sea turtles, there are still areas where climate change and other factors like erosion are destroying habitats, Belcher said, and some of these communities are poor and receive less conservation funding.

But in the places where they have recovered, it’s “a great story, actually, that we can do something about,” Belcher said. “We can. We can make a difference.”

Extinct species

The latest Red List indicates that six species have moved to the extinct category. The International Union for Conservation of Nature says these species include the Christmas Island shrew and the slender-billed curlew, a migratory shorebird.

Three Australian mammals and a plant native to Hawaii have been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature for the first time and placed on the extinct species list.