SDG #15 is to “Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss”
Within SDG #15 are 12 targets, of which we here focus on Target 15.5:
Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
Target 15.5 has one indicator:
Indicator 15.5.1: Red List Index
The Red List Index is part of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Red List Index tracks trends for extinction risk of each species and progress on biodiversity targets. The IUCN is the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Too many species face the threat of extinction from a plethora of causes. Examples include invasive alien species, climate change or plain destruction at the hands of human drivers. Moreover, the rate of decline of a great wealth of species is startling.
The Red List considers in its criteria whether:
a species faces endangerment in its existing population
the speed at which the population is declining
how wide distributed its existing population is
the extent to which pockets of the existing population of a species spread out from one another.
The categories of highest risk of extinction in the wild are:
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically Endangered.
At the other end of the spectrum is the conservation status of species the IUCN deem Least Concern. For these species, the health of populations, ecosystems and habitats are secure.
The Red List Index is a measure from 0 to 1, with zero suggesting all species are extinct. Measured across countries, the lowest index figure by a wide margin is in Mauritius, scoring 0.39 as of 2023. Following this is Sri Lanka, scoring 0.56. The worldwide 2023 Red List Index score is 0.72, unchanged since 2015. Thus, we've failed Target 15.5’s stated aim to protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species by 2020 and halt the loss of biodiversity.
