The study first exceeded the barrier of one hundred thousand species of animals and plants evaluated.
More than 28,000 species of animals and plants are threatened on Earth, according to the latest update of the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species (International Union for Conservation of Nature), which is the most complete source of information on the state Global conservation of fauna and flora on the planet.
This is the dramatic result of the new Red List of Threatened Species that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature prepares
The latest edition of this Red List includes 105,732 species evaluated, this is the first time this figure is reached and, of these, 28,338 are in danger of extinction.
"This update clearly shows the number of human beings worldwide who are overexploiting wildlife," said Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General.
The angel shark, the guitar fish and the rhino ray have already become the most threatened marine fish in the world due to overfishing. For example, fins of rhino stripes are in high demand in Asian restaurants to make soups.
Primates in extinction
Poaching and the destruction of their habitats caused seven species of primates to be "on the verge of extinction." In fact, a monkey that lives only in Ivory Coast and Ghana now has a population of less than 2,000 individuals.
River fish
Meanwhile, the new IUCN Red List reveals that more than half of Japan's freshwater fish and more than a third of those in Mexico are in danger of extinction, due to increased agricultural and urban pollution.
"The world's freshwater fish species, totaling almost 18,000, are experiencing a dramatic global decline," said William Darwall, head of the IUCN Freshwater Biodiversity Unit.
Deep water
In addition, 500 species of fish that live in the deepest marine areas, such as lantern fish, have also just entered this Red List.
These species can live more than 1,000 meters deep and some face threats such as the activity of fishing industries or offshore oil and gas extraction platforms.
The price of life in the black market
This bloody business, which occupies the third position of organized crime worldwide, moves billions of euros a year that take the lives of many species ahead. Between 2010 and 2012 alone, more than 100,000 elephants were killed, according to data from the NGO Save The Elephants, which could lead this species to extinction in less than a decade.
"It is difficult to know what the prices are in the black market, but they can reach really high prices," says Teresa Gil, spokesman for the WWF Species program. “It is estimated that traffic moves between 8,000 and 20,000 million euros a year and has nothing to envy to drug or arms trafficking. It is leading to extinction hundreds of animals and plants and is the second threat to biodiversity, after habitat destruction. ”
According to the Wild Life Smuggling Observatory, Traffic, in 2003 a kilo of ivory was valued at 190 euros. In 2013, it was around 2,500. In the case of the rhinoceros, its horn went from having a price per kilo of 765 euros to more than 62,000.
Asia and Africa, as well as Madagascar, Indonesia, the Philippines, Brazil, Papua New Guinea, India and China, are the areas with the most endemic endangered species. From the World Wildlife Crime Report they warn of the difficulty of collecting and analyzing seizure data, coming from disparate places and processed by different authorities.
But the consequences of poaching are not always far from our borders. Spain has become a key location due to its geographical location between Africa, Latin America and Europe. Thousands of animals and objects from poaching come to our shores through ports such as Algeciras, Canary Islands or Valencia. According to WWF data, and although it is estimated that only half of the cases are discovered, between 2005 and 2014 13,838 live animals were seized in our country.
More than 8,000 species at risk
"Terrestrial mammals are experiencing a massive collapse in the size of their populations and in their geographical distribution worldwide," the study authors say. "The relentless decline of mammals suggests that many of the vital ecological and socioeconomic services provided by these species will be lost, which could irrevocably change ecosystems."
The elephant population decreased by 30% in seven years, according to the Great Elephant Census conducted in 2016. But large mammals are not the only ones, the Red List of Threatened Species includes 8,417 endangered species. Among the ranks of that long string of animals, many are seriously threatened, or already extinct, by poaching that fuels illegal animal trafficking. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) also warns that it will publish at least 15,000 new evaluations on the list throughout this year 2018.
Because seizures are often made during the transport of goods, numerous details have been collected on the details and routes used by traffickers. However, the immense diversity of merchandise, ranging from dissected seahorses to live chimpanzee babies, complicates their collection and analysis.
A disparate and late regulation
"Changes in regulations, both national and international, can have a dramatic impact," they say. "As a result, confirming the trends of each species is complicated, and they can only be seen clearly where poaching is documented on a species with a small and localized population, such as the rhinoceros in South Africa."
Among the main causes caused by poaching are the obtaining of meat, the pet trade, the use of parts of their bodies as medicinal products or as ornamental use. Poachers slowly annihilate each species they pursue, so 98% of the victims of this slaughter have declining populations.
Although both wildlife trafficking and poaching have increased in recent years the attention and awareness they require due to their severity, the population curve of many species continues to decline at an untamed pace.
The Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) was created to ensure the survival of the species, but passing more restrictive laws that impose greater penalties on hunting and illegal species trafficking becomes an imposition. unavoidable to try to contain the vertiginous rhythm of a threat that ravages the planet without reversing.
Fonte: National Geographic, The Convention on Illegal Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES), IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
