IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC)

Sharks and their relatives, the rays and chimaeras, are the diverse group of cartilaginous fishes that have evolved over 400 million years. Historically considered of low economic value to large-scale fisheries, today many of these fishes have become the target of directed commercial and recreational fisheries around the world, and they are increasingly taken in the by-catch of fisheries targeting other species.

Summaries are provided on the conservation status of over 7,000 globally threatened tree species with the 1994 IUCN categories and criteria assigned. The conservation evaluations were carried out in association with members of the IUCN SSC Specialist Groups and a wide range of experts worldwide. The book concludes that 10 per cent of the world's trees are threatened with extinction and calls for a range of measures to reverse the trend of species loss

This represents the most comprehensive compilation of data on threatened vascular plants ever published. It includes the names of some 33,000 plant species determined to be rare or threatened on a global scale. Conservation assessments were provided by the IUCN Species Survival Commission, the National Botanical Institute (South Africa), Environment Australia and CSIRO,.