48,646 Species Now Threatened With Extinction, Warns International Conservation Body

Arctic seals and birds are facing growing threats as climate change and human activities continue to take a toll, according to the latest update from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released Friday.

The IUCN highlighted that habitat loss from logging and agricultural expansion is a major risk for birds, while seals are increasingly endangered due to global warming and human activities such as maritime traffic, industrial fishing, oil extraction, and hunting. The hooded seal’s status has been upgraded from vulnerable to endangered, while bearded and harp seals are now classified as near threatened.

Grethel Aguilar, IUCN’s Director General, stressed at the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi that this update underscores the “ever-increasing impact human activity is having on nature and climate, and the devastating effects this has.”

The IUCN Red List now tracks 172,620 species, of which 48,646 are considered threatened with extinction.

Arctic ecosystems are particularly at risk, as global warming is occurring four times faster there than elsewhere, drastically reducing sea ice cover. Ice-dependent seals, which serve as a key food source for other species, are essential to the Arctic food web, helping to recycle nutrients and maintain ecosystem balance. Kit Kovacs of the Norwegian Polar Institute highlighted rapid changes in the Svalbard archipelago, noting that areas previously covered by five months of sea ice are now winter ice-free.

Bird populations are also declining. The IUCN’s nine-year assessment of 11,185 bird species shows that 61% of species have decreasing populations, up from 44% in 2016. Overall, 1,256 species (11.5%) are globally threatened. Tropical forest destruction is emerging as a key risk, with Madagascar seeing 14 bird species newly classified as near threatened and three as vulnerable. West Africa and Central America also reported increases in near-threatened species.

The report did note positive developments. The green turtle, for example, has recovered by 28% since the 1970s due to sustained conservation efforts and is no longer classified as endangered. Nicolas Pilcher, Executive Director of the Marine Research Foundation, cautioned that such successes should inspire continued action rather than complacency.

This update underscores the urgent need for global conservation efforts to protect keystone species, maintain biodiversity, and mitigate the accelerating impacts of climate change and human activity.