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System Title	5.12 IUCN Criteria for Threatened Species Categories
Keywords	Threatened taxa; taxa status; international; endangered;vulnerable,extinct.
Description	This is the international system for classifying threatened taxa. There are 11 categories as follows: extinct extinct in the wild critically endangered endangered vulnerable lower risk conservation dependent: near threatened; least concern data deficient not evaluated The definitions for these categories are in the detailed description.
Original Purpose	To provide an internationally comparable classification system that records the status of threatened taxa.
Status	This system has been used internationally since the revision of an earlier classification system in 1994.
Organisation	IUCN;
Jurisdiction	Global
Contact person/position	David Given
Address	P.O. Box 84 Lincoln University Canterbury Phone +64 3 325 2811 Fax +64 3 325 3843 Email GivenD@Lincoln.ac.nz
Available format	Published reports
Access	Freely available
Geographical coverage	International;

 

Operational Specifications
Scale of Operation	It operates at the scale of nation state recording the status of species, sub species and varieties.
GIS Compatibility	N/A
Relationship between levels in the classification system	N/A
Contributing databases/ classification systems	N/A
Contributing database GIS compatibility	N/A
Relationship with other classification systems and spatial frameworks.	De Lange & Norton's 1998 classification of threatened and uncommon taxa attempts to address deficiencies in the IUCN system for New Zealand. New Zealand has developed its own system for classifying threatened species New Zealand Threat Classification). This new system was completed in 2002.
Relationship with other databases	The system is used by others outside of New Zealand to compile lists of New Zealand's threatened species for groups of species.

 

Current and emerging use for:
Assisting with determining historic state/ baseline	The historic status of a species needs to be known at least at a general level, to allow the classification system to work properly.
Assisting with determining current state/ baseline	The classification system identifies the current state of particular taxa.
Asssisting with scenario building and modelling of possible futures	Trends over time in the status of particular taxa can be used to model possible future scenarios.
Risk Assesment	This classification system identifies species at risk and attempts to identify the degree of risk.
Monitoring site selection and sample design	N/A
Aggregating and reporting data locally, regionally and/or nationally	Data is collected at the national level. Some data is also collected at the regional and local level. The criteria need to be applied at the level of reporting.

Current use (who,level,why)

This is the international system for the classification of the status of threatened taxa. New Zealand does not formally use this system. The Department of Conservation periodically provides basic information to international organisations for groups of species (eg. birds) to allow those organisations to classify those New Zealand species according to the IUCN classification system.

User friendliness/public and decision maker understanding

The general IUCN system is widely known. However most people are unaware of the definitions associated with each class and are unaware of the full range of classes. A number of the terms describing the classes are in common usage.

System strengths

• The system is internationally comparable.
• The general principles of the system are widely.

Current limitations of framework

• The IUCN system suits continental areas. It does not address many of the special features of archipelagos such as New Zealand. In New Zealand many taxa naturally occupy extremely restricted locations and have relatively low numbers. The IUCN system assumes that all uncommon species are threatened. This is not necessarily valid because many species can be naturally uncommon but under no immediate threat. * The system does not identify species that are currently abundant but in significant decline (e.g. cabbage tree) * It is hard to prove extinctions in aquatic environments.

References

IUCN,1994. IUCN red list categories. IUCN: Gland.