365 Endangered Species To Be Featured in 2010 on IUCN Red List

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as they say on their web page, helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges- and in 2010, they will be pragmatically using the Internet to shine a daily spotlight on endangered species from around the world.

The United Nations has declared 2010 the Year of Biodiversity, and the IUCN list will feature a new species each day at IUCN.org. They plan to issue daily portraits with in-depth background information on the 365 species most in danger of extinction.

“We will start with some better known species before moving to cover plants, fungi, invertebrates, and more, including less charismatic ones.” – Jane Smart, IUCN Biodiversity Expert

Their yearly Red List began the year with a January 1 feature on the poster-species for the endangered list- the polar bear. According to a recent IUCN press release, over 1/3 of the world’s species are threatened with extinction.

“It is time for governments to get serious about saving species and making sure it is high on their agenda for next year, as we’re really running out of time. The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting.” – Jane Smart, IUCN Biodiversity Expert

The IUCN warned the world before Copenhagen that inaction or inadequate action would only put endangered species like the emperor penguin, the arctic fox, the clownfish, the koala bear, and most salmon species under greater danger for extinction. For the sake of biodiversity, the endangered species’ existence, and Earth in general, let’s hope the world takes even more of a cue from the 365 days of  endangered species features.