The threatened species categories used in Red Data Books and Red Lists have been in place for almost 30 years. The IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria provide an easily and widely understood system for classifying species at high risk of global extinction, so as to focus attention on conservation measures designed to protect them. This latest version of the classification system was adopted by the IUCN Council in February 2001 and reflects comments from the IUCN and SSC memberships and the final meeting of the Criteria Review Working Group.
This second edition retains the same assessment system presented in the 2001 publication. The IUCN Council adopted this latest version, which incorporated changes as a result of comments from the IUCN and SSC memberships and from a final meeting of the Criteria Review Working Group, in February 2000.
