At least 223 bird, 140 mammal and 346 amphibian species threatened with extinction currently have no protection whatsoever over any part of their ranges, according to the most comprehensive analysis of its kind of the world’s protected area system.
In addition, many existing protected areas are so small in size as to be virtually ineffective in conserving species, placing another 943, and probably many more bird, mammal and amphibian species, at risk. Without an immediate and strategic expansion of the protected area system, scientists expect a major wave of extinctions within the next few decades.
This "global gap analysis" provides an overview of how well 11,000 of the world’s bird, mammal and amphibian species are covered by the global network of protected areas. The study was released by the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International in a joint project with the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN/WCPA).
The analysis builds upon the work of thousands of scientists and dozens of institutions around the world, including BirdLife International, which mapped and assessed the world’s 1,183 threatened bird species. Based on their work, CABS scientists compared a map of all protected areas for which reliable information was available to maps of more than 11,000 species ranges from three species groups. They then identified places where species live without any protection, and analysed where the highest priority gaps in protection existed.
Tropical areas, specifically rainforests, and islands stood out as particular concerns for immediate conservation action. Of the areas identified as urgent priorities for the creation of new protected areas, fully 80% of the land area falls within the tropics. Islands, which constitute only 5.2% of the planet’s land surface, hold 45% of all species analysed, of which more than half are endemics.
BirdLife’s research has revealed 223 gap species. Though birds are the best-studied of the three groups, close to 20% of threatened species have absolutely no protection. The largest concentration of unprotected birds is found in the Andes and Indonesia. Critically Endangered bird species without current protection include the Yellow-eared Parrot, Ognorhynchus icterotis, which has fewer than 150 known individuals remaining and is found only in the Colombian Andes, and the Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher, Eutrichomyias rowleyi, of which fewer than 100 individuals are known to exist, only on Indonesia’s Sangihe Island.
The analysis found that by adding a small percentage of the Earth’s land area to the world’s existing protected area system, a disproportionately large number of species could be brought into protection. For example, adding just 2.6% of the world’s land area would bring approximately two-thirds of unprotected species into the protected area system.
The Yellow-eared Parrot is Critically Endangered and numbers around 150 individuals. It lives in the Colombian Andes outside of any protected areas.
In addition, many existing protected areas are so small in size as to be virtually ineffective in conserving species, placing another 943, and probably many more bird, mammal and amphibian species, at risk. Without an immediate and strategic expansion of the protected area system, scientists expect a major wave of extinctions within the next few decades.
This "global gap analysis" provides an overview of how well 11,000 of the world’s bird, mammal and amphibian species are covered by the global network of protected areas. The study was released by the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science (CABS) at Conservation International in a joint project with the IUCN-World Conservation Union’s World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN/WCPA).
The analysis builds upon the work of thousands of scientists and dozens of institutions around the world, including BirdLife International, which mapped and assessed the world’s 1,183 threatened bird species. Based on their work, CABS scientists compared a map of all protected areas for which reliable information was available to maps of more than 11,000 species ranges from three species groups. They then identified places where species live without any protection, and analysed where the highest priority gaps in protection existed.
Tropical areas, specifically rainforests, and islands stood out as particular concerns for immediate conservation action. Of the areas identified as urgent priorities for the creation of new protected areas, fully 80% of the land area falls within the tropics. Islands, which constitute only 5.2% of the planet’s land surface, hold 45% of all species analysed, of which more than half are endemics.
BirdLife’s research has revealed 223 gap species. Though birds are the best-studied of the three groups, close to 20% of threatened species have absolutely no protection. The largest concentration of unprotected birds is found in the Andes and Indonesia. Critically Endangered bird species without current protection include the Yellow-eared Parrot, Ognorhynchus icterotis, which has fewer than 150 known individuals remaining and is found only in the Colombian Andes, and the Caerulean Paradise-flycatcher, Eutrichomyias rowleyi, of which fewer than 100 individuals are known to exist, only on Indonesia’s Sangihe Island.
The analysis found that by adding a small percentage of the Earth’s land area to the world’s existing protected area system, a disproportionately large number of species could be brought into protection. For example, adding just 2.6% of the world’s land area would bring approximately two-thirds of unprotected species into the protected area system.
The Yellow-eared Parrot is Critically Endangered and numbers around 150 individuals. It lives in the Colombian Andes outside of any protected areas.
