Species for which information is maintained on this database have been selected for a wide range of reasons. The principal categories are given below. An indication of completeness is given for each category. In general, data are complete for species protected by international legislation. For other categories where definitive lists do not exist, data are of varying degrees of completeness. The level of completeness largely depends on the funding that has been available for a particular category. Analyses of these data must be based on a clear understanding of the completeness of the data set in question.

Please contact species@unep-wcmc.org for more detailed information.

1. PROTECTION BY INTERNATIONAL LEGISLATION OR AGREEMENTS

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Includes all species listed in the Appendices of CITES with the exception of Orchidaceae listed in Appendix II, for which the data are only partially complete.

Information on the full historical changes in listing on the taxa selected is provided, as are all specific reservations entered by Parties and annual export quotas.

A subset from the UNEP-WCMC Species Database of CITES-listed species is also available as a separate searchable database here.

Summary information from the database is published after each meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES, as the Checklist of CITES Species and Annotated CITES Appendices and Reservations.

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Includes all species listed in the Annexes to the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation, with the exception of Annex B Orchidaceae, for which the data are only partially complete. Information on the current Annex listing of the taxa selected is provided, as are all specific reservations entered by CITES Parties and CITES annual export quotas.

A subset from the UNEP-WCMC Species Database on species listed by the EU Wildlife Trade Regulation is also available as a separate searchable database here.

Summary information from the database for EU listed animal species is published as JNCC reports, most recently (2001) as JNCC Reports 291-4.

Includes all species listed under the Convention on Migratory Species and related Agreements

Includes all species listed under the EC COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 92/43/EEC (1) of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora

Includes all species listed under Council Directive 79/409/EC of 2 April 1979 on the conservation of the wild birds.

Includes all species listed under the Council of Europe Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats

Includes most species listed under the Protocol Concerning Specially Protected Areas and Wildlife (SPAW) to the Convention for the Protection and Development of the Marine Environment of the Wider Caribbean Region (Cartagena Convention)

2. GLOBALLY AND NATIONALLY THREATENED SPECIES

UNEP-WCMC Species Databas
The information on threatened species provided here is a result of long-term collaboration by UNEP-WCMC with countless individuals worldwide and many organisations. Data have also come from a number of published sources. Information on the sources of data is provided. Principal collaborators among international organisations include the IUCN Species Survival Commission and BirdLife International. Many national organisations have also made major contributions, through the production of national red lists in hard copy, and by making their data available in electronic format.

Data are presented on the basis of the original IUCN standard threat categories and the revised 1994 IUCN standard threat categories. The dates reflect the years when hard copy publications were produced.

Global threat status - original IUCN threatened species standard

The original IUCN standard for categorising threatened species has been used in Red Data Books and Red Lists, with some modification, for more than 30 years. Since their introduction these categories have become widely recognised internationally, and they have been used in a wide range of publications and listings, produced by IUCN as well as by numerous governmental and non-governmental organisations. The original standard provided an easily and widely understood method for highlighting those species under higher extinction risk, so as to focus attention on conservation measures designed to protect them.

Global threat status - revised 1994 IUCN threatened species standard

Categories defined under the revised 1994 IUCN threatened species standard are given here.

The revised standard was developed to provide an explicit, objective framework for the classification of species according to their extinction risk. Details of the process followed in developing this standard are given here. The revised standard demands more knowledge of the population of a species than the original standard hence it is not valid to assign the new category simply on the basis of the original one.

Most of the global category assessments using the revised standard have been made by members of the taxonomic Specialist Groups of the IUCN Species Survival Commission; all birds have been covered by BirdLife International; other assessments have been provided by UNEP-WCMC.

Red List History

The Global Red Lists were for many years compiled for IUCN by UNEP-WCMC.

Summary information from the database has been published as the IUCN Red Lists of Threatened Animals (until 1996) the 1997 IUCN Red List of Threatened Plants and the Worlsd List of Threatened Trees.

The SSC Red List programme was established in 1999 to lead the process of assessing species for IUCN threat category. The programme produced the 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and continues to update the information on a regular basis. A copy of the data is maintained on the UNEP-WCMC Species Database.

3. NARROW RANGE ENDEMICS

Data are maintained on single-country endemics as their restricted range suggests that they are likely to be of conservation concern. The data are fairly complete for mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, less so for fish and plants and very sparse for invertebrate animals. Data are supplemented and updated on a project basis.

Data are maintained on island endemics, in recognition of the fact that geographically isolated populations are likely to be of conservation concern. The data are very incomplete for all groups of animals and plants. Data are supplemented and updated on a project basis.

4. SPECIES OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

Information is included on trees of conservation importance, particularly those of local or international use as timber species. This information is available on the UNEP-WCMC Trees Database. UNEP-WCMC, in association with the IUCN Species Survival Commission and a network of experts, has identified over 8000 tree species of conservation concern. This survey was supported by the Government of the Netherlands as part of the Conservation and Sustainable Management of Trees project.

Summary information on individual species was published in The World List of Threatened Trees.

Information on 250 of these species published as Contribution to an evaluation of tree species using the new CITES Listing Criteria is actively under review (2002).

Information on medicinal importance of plant species is recorded on a project basis.

Information on coral species of importance in the aquarium trade is currently being recorded (2002).

Since April 2000 the Centre and the Marine Aquarium Council (MAC) have been collaborating with members of trade associations to establish a Global Marine Aquarium Database (GMAD) as a freely available source of information on the global aquarium industry.

5. OTHER SPECIES

Basic information on all species of mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians (whether or not they are of conservation concern) is provided. This includes fairly complete distribution information. The scientific names of all fish species are included but the distribution information is currently lacking for most species.