In the next 45-years, it is expected that at least 30% of the Komodo Dragon's habitat will be lost.
In their island habitats that have been reduced by rising seas, the Indonesian Komodo dragons were declared "endangered" in an update to the wildlife Red List. This was also a warning about overfishing, which could lead to nearly one-in-five sharks going extinct.
As the human impact on the natural environment continues to grow, around 28 percent of the 138,000 species that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature has assessed are at risk of disappearing in the wild forever.
The Red List for Threatened Species' latest update highlights the possibility of restoration. Four commercially-fished species of tuna have reversed their slide to extinction following a decade-long effort to reduce over-exploitation.
Atlantic bluefin tuna was the most remarkable to recover from being "endangered" in three different categories and moved into the safe zone "least concern".
Last assessed in 2011, the species was a majorstay of Japanese high-end sushi.
Jane Smart, global director for IUCN's Biodiversity Conservation Group, said, "This is a proof that conservation works when we do the right things, a species may increase."
"But we must be vigilant. "But we must remain vigilant.
'Clarion call'
The IUCN Congress in Marseille, France, emphasized that ecosystem destruction and disappearing species are existential threats.
37 percent of the 1,200 shark-ray species analyzed are at risk of extinction.
Climate change is also threatening many species' futures, especially endemic animals as well as plants that live on small islands and in biodiversity hotspots.
Komodo dragons, the largest living lizards, are found in Komodo National Park (listed as World Heritage) and Flores.
According to the IUCN, the species is "increasingly threatened by the effects of climate change". The IUCN stated that rising sea levels will likely shrink the habitat by at least 30% over the next 45-years.
The fearsome throwbacks, which are not protected in any way, are rapidly losing ground as the human population grows.
Andrew Terry, Conservation Director of the Zoological Society of London, said that "the idea that these prehistoric creatures have moved one step closer towards extinction due in large part to climate change" is frightening.
He said that their decline is a "clarion cry for nature to be placed in the center of all decision making" at crucial UN climate talks in Glasgow.
Komodo dragons are restricted in their habitat.
'An alarming rate'
In the meantime, the most extensive survey of sharks, rays, and other marine species ever conducted revealed that 37% of 1,200 species surveyed are currently considered to be directly endangered or in danger of extinction. They fall into one of three categories: "vulnerable", “endangered", or "critically threatened".
This is a third higher risk species than seven years ago, according to Simon Fraser University Professor Nicholas Dulvy. He was the lead author of Monday's study that underpins the Red List assessment.
He told AFP that the conservation status of the entire group continues to deteriorate and that overall risk of extinction has been rising at alarming rates.
Five species of sawfish are most at risk. The iconic shortfin mako shark and five other sawfish have their serrated snouts tangled in cast-off fishing gear.
Chondrichthyan fish are a group primarily made up of sharks and rays. Sonja Fordham, President of Shark Advocates International, said that the Chondrichthyan fish "are important for ecosystems, economies, and cultures." AFP.
Graphic showing Earth's mass exterminations over the past 500 million years.
"By not limiting catch enough, we are putting at risk ocean health and squandering potential for sustainable fishing, tourism and traditional food security over the long-term."
The Food and Agriculture Organization reports some 800,000 tonnes of sharks caughtintentionally or opportunisticallyeach year, but research suggests the true figure is two to four times greater.
Conservation tracker
Saturday saw the official launch of IUCN's "green status", which is the first global standard for assessing species recovery, and measuring conservation impact.
Molly Grace, an Oxford professor and Green Status cochair, said that "it makes the invisible work of conserving visible." She spoke at a press conference.
Most attempts to stop the rapid decline in diversity and numbers of animals and plants have failed.
2017: Shortfin mako shark fished in the United States for sport.
Atlantic Bluefin tuna has experienced a remarkable recovery, but Pacific Bluefin remains critically endangered.
The UN's biodiversity experts warned in 2019 that one million species were at risk of extinction. This raises the possibility that the planet may experience its sixth mass extinction in 500 million years.
The IUCN Congress has been widely regarded as a test ground for a UN Treaty to be finalised at a summit held in Kunming, China next Aprilto save nature.
Smart stated, "We would love to see that plan call to an end to biodiversity loss by 2030."
She added that a key element of the new global agreement could be to set aside 30% of Earth's oceans and land as protected areas.
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2021 AFP
