IUCN Red List of Threatened Species - Regional Assessment

This report presents the conservation status of the anthozoans occuring in the Mediterranean Sea, based on the assessment of 136 species using the IUCN Red List methodology. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level to guide appropriate conservation actions in order to improve their status. 

There are 357 species of birds breeding within the assessment region, which consists of the whole of the Arabian Peninsula, plus Iraq, Syria and Lebanon, including offshore islands and the Socotra archipelago.

In recent years, awareness has risen surrounding the crucial role of insects in providing ecosystem services and on the acute decline of many of them. However, significant gaps in knowledge still remain. In this context, the European Commission has undertaken to fund the European Red List of Grasshoppers, Crickets and Bush- Crickets, which provides the first ever comprehensive assessment of the extinction risk of all Orthoptera species native to Europe.

Freshwater habitats and biodiversity in the Arabian Peninsula are unique and highly valued for the essential role they play in people's survival, as well as that of its native flora and fauna. This project aims to provide an accurate picture of the present conservation status and distribution of Arabian freshwater species, as well as to identify the main threats that affect them and action requirements for their successful long term conservation.

This publication provides for the first time factual information on the status of medicinal plants in Europe. This assessment includes 400 vascular plants from ninety families, and the good news is it shows that only 2.4% of medicinal plants are threatened. The collection of plants from the wild was identified as the prime threat, and impacts from agriculture were identified as another important threat. 

The European Red List is a review of the conservation status of European species according to IUCN regional Red Listing guidelines. It identifies those species that are threatened with extinction at the regional level, so that appropriate conservation action can be taken to improve their status. This publication summarizes results for all described native European marine fishes.