Endangered species

This publication describes the very urgent situation regarding the Iberian Lynx. Its position on IUCN's red list as critically endangered indicates that the chances of extinction are quite real. Extinction of the lynx would mean the fist extinction of a big cat in Europe since the disappearance of the Sabre-toothed tiger approximately 10.000 years ago.

The Mediterranean-rim countries hold around 400 million people and 135 million of them live on the coast. A steady migration towards coastal areas, specifically in the south and east of the Mediterranean, is causing pressure on the coastal environment and, more importantly, on its biodiversity. In this second Mediterranean regional assessment, all the reptile and amphibian species existing within the region of study have been evaluated for their global conservation status.

Freshwater in the Mediterranean basin is of huge economic, environmental and livelihood importance. However, with a growing population and an increasing number of tourists, the freshwater resources are under great pressure. Since the threatened status of plants and animals is one of the most widely used indicators for assessing the condition of ecosystems and their biodiversity, an assessment was undertaken for freshwater fish in this region.

La flore des îles de la Méditerranée comprend de nombreuses espèces endémiques rares et localisées. Certaines sont particulièrement menacées d'extinction en raison des multiples pressions engendrées par l'homme et ses activités sur les écosystèmes méditerranéens. Ce livre propose, au moyen de fiches descriptives, une sélection de 50 espèces spécialement menacées sur la base des critères de l'UICN pour les listes rouges.