IUCN Red List: Sliteye Shark, Asian Palm Civet & Conservation Status | UPSC

The IUCN Red List, also known as the IUCN Red Data Book, is among the primary instruments employed in global conservation programs. It contains the most comprehensive species of the animals, plants, and fungi together with their conservation status. Understanding the IUCN Red List UPSC is crucial for prospective Union Public Service Commission candidates since it provides knowledge on biodiversity conservation—a major subject on the syllabus. As a life barometer, the IUCN Red List shows species in danger of extinction and directs worldwide conservation policies.

Prime Facts Regarding The Latest News

• It expands the known habitat range of this Near Threatened species.
• It underscores the ecological value of deepwater seagrass ecosystems—rich in biodiversity yet poorly understood.
• It adds urgency to conservation efforts within Marine Protected Areas like the Chagos Archipelago.

About the Sliteye Shark

• Scientific Name: Loxodon macrorhinus (the only member of its genus).
• Family: Carcharhinidae (requiem sharks).
• Distribution: Tropical Indo-West Pacific—from ~34° N (e.g., China, Japan) to ~30° S (e.g, Australia), including coasts of India, East Africa, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, etc.

Sliteye Shark Features

• Size: Grows up to about 95 cm in length.
• Appearance: Slender body, long, narrow face, large slit-like eyes (adaptation to dim light), smooth-edged teeth with small tips, grey upper body and white underbelly, pale or transparent edges on fins; fin ridges (interdorsal) are absent or rudimentary.
• Reproduction: Viviparous (live-bearing), likely with small litters (often two pups), fast-growing—maturing around 60 cm TL; young may be born at 40–45 cm.

Discovery of Sliteye Shark in Chagos

Scientists used Baited Remote Underwater Video systems to record two sliteye sharks. They were found only 11 kilometres apart at depths between 23 and 29 metres. The species is known for its narrow, slit-like eyes, which help it see in low light. Although usually found in deeper waters, the sliteye shark can also live in shallow, clear seas. This is the first time it has been documented in the Great Chagos Bank.

Conservation Status

• IUCN Red List: Classified as Near Threatened.
• Threats: Significant population declines (~29% projected over the next 15 years) due to intense coastal fishing pressure.
• Implications of Discovery: The newfound presence in a protected and remote area like the Chagos Archipelago highlights the importance of deepwater seagrass ecosystems for conserving this species and its broader ecological community.

Summary Table

In a Nutshell

• What's New: First-ever film evidence of sliteye sharks in the Great Chagos Bank, captured in deepwater seagrass meadows—an uncharted habitat area.
• Species Insight: A small, viviparous requiem shark with specialised vision for murky depths, widely distributed across the Indo-West Pacific.
• Conservation Angle: Near Threatened due to unsustainable fisheries. This discovery underscores the importance of protecting deepwater seagrass ecosystems, which serve as biodiversity hotspots and potential refuges for vulnerable marine species.

What is the IUCN Red List?

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. It uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species and subspecies. These criteria are relevant to all species and all regions of the world. The project's main goal is not just to deliver an important message, but also to form an international official body to combat the extinction of animals, which is underlined as a problem to both public and leaders.

Categories of Threat

The Red List categorizes species into nine groups based on their risk of extinction:

• Extinct (EX): No known individuals remaining.
• Extinct in the Wild (EW): Known only to survive in captivity or as a naturalized population outside its historic range.
• Critically Endangered (CR): Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.
• Endangered (EN): High risk of extinction in the wild.
• Vulnerable (VU): High risk of endangerment in the wild.
• Near Threatened (NT): Likely to become endangered in the near future.
• Least Concern (LC): Lowest risk (does not qualify for a more at-risk category; widespread and abundant).
• Data Deficient (DD): Not enough data to make an assessment of its risk of extinction.
• Not Evaluated (NE): Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), has been set up with a view to accomplish some of the most pertinent goals, which are the conservation of nature and the promotion of sustainable use of natural resources. For example, one of the primary aims of IUCN is to deal with the following areas: 

Monitoring and Research

• Global Biodiversity Assessment: The Red List of Threatened Species, a conservation status recording key to all species on a global scale is a well-known tool the IUCN helped develop and implement. This tool is required for sorting out mismatches within biodiversity trends and conservation agendas.
• Scientific Research and Data Collection: The IUCN facilitates research on biodiversity, ecosystem services, and the impacts of climate change and human activity on natural environments.

Influencing Global Policies

• Environmental Policies and Legislation: The IUCN collaborates with countries and international bodies to decide and fulfill rules and laws that support the preservation of biodiversity and use of resources sustainably.
• International Cooperation: It encourages collaboration between countries and organizations to tackle transboundary environmental challenges, like wildlife trafficking and climate change impacts.

Capacity Building and Education

• Training and Education: In the field of education, the IUCN gives trainings and resources to its members and the public to increase the understanding of ecological issues so that conservation projects can be promoted.
• Empowering Communities: It concentrates on the development of local communities' skills and knowledge regarding the sustainable management of natural resources, thus, conservation initiatives can contribute to local livelihoods.

Conservation Programs

• Protected Areas Management: The IUCN helps in the planning and management of protected areas worldwide to ensure they effectively contribute to conserving biodiversity.
• Species Recovery Programs: The organization supports efforts to rehabilitate and conserve endangered species through recovery programs and habitat restoration.

Sustainable Use of Resources

• Promoting Sustainable Practices: The IUCN works with private sectors, governments, and other stakeholders to promote practices that are environmentally sustainable and economically viable.
• Development of Green Standards: It develops and advocates for standards and guidelines that enhance environmental sustainability across various industries and sectors.

IUCN Red List Users

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is employed worldwide for various purposes including such as guiding conservation actions, providing reliable information for policy-making, and raising the community of the entire world about biodiversity and conservation issues. As an example, this is how the IUCN Red List is utilized by the primary users:

Conservationists and Biologists

Conservationists and biologists resort to the Red List as a guide to select the species that are on the brink of extinction, set in order the conservation efforts and follow the changes in biodiversity. The facts allow the professionals to direct resources properly to the most endangered species.

Government Agencies and Policymakers

Governments at all levels use the Red List to inform environmental policies and legislation. This includes creating protected areas, regulating wildlife trade, and setting conservation priorities. It also serves as a reference for implementing international agreements like the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Environmental and Conservation NGOs 

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use the Red List to advocate for conservation issues, design conservation projects, and raise public awareness. It also helps them in fundraising and communicating the urgency of their conservation efforts to supporters and donors.

Academic and Research Institutions

Researchers and academics utilize the Red List for scientific studies on species conservation, ecosystem health, and the effects of human activity on biodiversity. It is also used extensively in educational settings to teach students about conservation biology.

Private Sector Companies

Companies, especially those in sectors such as forestry, fishing, and extractive industries, make use of the Red List as a tool for minding the impacts they have on biodiversity. It enables them to plan out their corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and also makes them follow the rules on environmental protection.

Legal and Environmental Consultants

Consultants use the Red List to conduct environmental impact assessments and to provide advice on biodiversity conservation to their clients, ensuring that development projects comply with local and international conservation laws.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is a pivotal resource for the preservation of the earth due to the fact that it gives a science-based, comprehensive inventory of the conservation status of species. Its value in conservation can be seen from the following example:

Guiding Conservation Priorities

One of the most important means of prioritizing the action for biodiversity conservation is through the Red List. This is how sessions that describe those at risk can be put into practice. For example, species that are categorized as Critically Endangered or Endangered are the ones that require the most attention; their extinction has to be prevented immediately to do so.

Influencing Policy

The Red List is a valuable source of environmental management information, which is used to influence policy in order to conserve biodiversity. It provides the reference for the formulation of protective laws and regulations, which in turn enables the habitat and resources to be used in a restorative, sustainable, and sustainably renewable manner.

Challenges in Species Conservation

The species that are included in the IUCN Red List are facing a number of issues linked to their preservation. These difficulties can be very different from those species are facing to their home places and the particular issues. Let‘s take a look at some of the most crucial issues in endangered species conservation. The main challenges below:

Habitat Loss

Besides leading to the decrease of the animals and plants, the main threat that the habitats degradation is constitutes is a danger to the life of many of the animals and plant species. Urbanization, deforestation, agriculture, and mining are the practices that cause fragmentation and loss of habitats and jeopardize many species.

Climate Change

The alterations in the climate bring about the variations in both the weather patterns and the increase of the sea level, which in turn has a direct consequence on the temperature, and as a result, it may also modify the habitats, which are natural, of certain species. For example, the polar bear is endangered because the ice in the Arctic is slowly melting down, which is making their hunting and existence much difficult.

Overexploitation

Overfishing for the sake of commercial, recreational, scientific, or educational purposes has a direct, negative impact on some species' populations. The poaching and illegal wildlife trade are two of the most vital dangers to biodiversity.

List of critically endangered species in India as per IUCN Red List 2019-2022

As of the latest updated in 2023, the IUCN Red List identifies several species in India that are classified as critically endangered. Here are some of the species that show the diversity of India's flora and fauna that are in the incredibly endangered category,

On the 2023 update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, we learn new information that India is home to some species that are included in the category of Critically Endangered. The wild of these species is considered a significantly high-threat to extinction. The following table illustrates some of these species:

IUCN Conservation Plans

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), though, keeps at the top and constantly refreshes its measures to fight the biodiversity conservation challenges that rise often at a broader international level. Also, in the future, the organization will seek to increase its efforts in decision-making by admitting the natural ecosystems, using new findings of science, and considering broader socio-economic factors as well. Below is the exceptional repertoire of the critical factors likely to define IUCN’s forthcoming strategy that will focus in the field of nature conservation:

Strengthening Global Biodiversity Frameworks

The IUCN is going to take a determining part in shaping and setting in motion the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework meant for the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). This designates the formation of lofty goals for the preservation and utilization of the multifarious forms of life and the establishment of the agreements and national and international policies that need to be introduced or integrated.

Emphasizing Climate Change Resilience

IUCN’s strategies are expected to bring climate change and the loss of diversity closer and closer to their aims: ecological resilience will certainly take precedence over everything else. This includes the promotion and implementation of nature-based solutions that work with natural ecosystems to reduce the damage from the climate change and improve human health and well-being.

Expanding Protected Areas and Connectivity

IUCN's main goal is to make sure that the protected areas all over the world are widely covered and are effective enough in their roles. To be precise, it is not only the preservation of the park areas that counts, but also the constitution of the so-called green bridges that connect them and hence keep the ecosystems intact extraordinarily and allow the species to move from one place to another, which is the basis of the successful adaptation to climate change.

Innovative Financing for Conservation

Solving the problem of underfunding in the field of conservation is very important. IUCN is committed to creating new financial support options that could be invested in for example a conservation project. This can be done through payment for ecosystem services, green bonds, and using private sector money more efficiently.

Integrating Biodiversity with Sustainable Development

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the world authority on the environment, is still committed to the principle of managing natural resources so that the economic progress captured on Earth is ensured in a way that does not put the biodiversity of the world in danger. The principle also emphasizes the fact that each of us has the right to enjoy and make use of a healthy environment, and it also deals with the issue of animals and plants that barely have to pay taxes to these countries.

Focusing on Digital and Technological Solutions

There will be a great emphasis on the use of technology in conservation. IUCN has a plan to utilize artificial intelligence and big data analytics, satellite remote sensing, and other new technologies for monitoring biodiversity, assessing conservation successes, and increasing the effectiveness of conservation interventions.

Community-Led Conservation Initiatives

The local communities and indigenous peoples engagement in conservation efforts will be the top priority. The IUCN has identified the key role that these communities play in the conservation of biodiversity climate change, given their traditional knowledge and direct dependence on natural resources. One of the vital endeavors will be to make them more powerful through rights-based measures and capacity-building initiatives.

Enhanced Global Cooperation

IUCN would look forward to strengthening the international cooperation and building up the partnerships that are in governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society. The rationale for the team is as such, due to the need for coordinated action in cross-boundary conservation and for efficiency in knowledge and resource exchange.

Education and Awareness Campaigns

The retention of public attention as well as a thorough understanding of biodiversity issues will likely be one of the central strategies. The interaction of IUCN with stakeholders will persist through the education, outreach, and media and thus be used as the main tool in creating better understanding of nature and the need for its conservation.

Policy Influence and Advocacy

IUCN will maintain and enhance its role in advising and influencing global policy on environmental governance. This includes providing expert guidance on conservation laws, sustainable resource use, and environmental justice.

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