IUCN, Regional Office for Europe

The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of c.6,000 European species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, and selected groups of beetles, molluscs, and vascular plants) according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status.

The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of c.6,000 European species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, and selected groups of beetles, molluscs, and vascular plants) according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status.

The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of c.6,000 European species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, and selected groups of beetles, molluscs, and vascular plants) according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status.

The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of c.6,000 European species (mammals, reptiles, amphibians, freshwater fishes, butterflies, dragonflies, and selected groups of beetles, molluscs, and vascular plants) according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level – in order that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status.

Is development with biodiversity conservation an option? As a leading economic and political power, a key development assistance donor and the custodian of 21 overseas Countries and Territories with outstanding biodiversity, the European Union has a responsibility, to lead by example.

Numerous scientific studies show that biodiversity in Europe has been declining rapidly for some time and that this pattern has been matched by the great periods of expansion and intensification of land use. This first assessment of the Red List status of Europe’s and the European Union's mammals shows us that 15% of our species are threatened with extinction, 27% were identified as declining and another 33% had an unknown population trend.

The latest IUCN Red List shows that a third of all amphibians, one in eight birds and a quarter of all mammals are under threat globally. Environmental action has to be taken collectively at the international level and the EU has taken a strategic approach across Europe, by implementing the Birds and Habitats Directives.