Red Sanders falls back in IUCN’s ‘endangered’ category
- Posted By
10Pointer
- Categories
Environment
- Published
11th Jan, 2022
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Context
Red Sanders (Red Sandalwood) has fallen back into the ‘endangered’ category in the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List.
About the Species
- The species, Red Sandalwood (Pterocarpus santalinus), is an Indian endemic tree species, with a restricted geographical range in the Eastern Ghats.
- The species is endemic to a distinct tract of forests in Andhra Pradesh.
- It was classified as ‘near threatened’ in 2018 and has now joined the ‘endangered’ list once again.
- It was a moment of celebration when the species was lifted off from the endangered category for the first time since 1997.
- The latest IUCN assessment stated: “Over the last three generations, the species has experienced a population decline of 50-80 per cent. It is assessed as Endangered”.
IUCN’s Red List
- The IUCN maintains a list — called the Red List — of flora and fauna species and categorises them based on their conservation status.
- The status ranges from ‘least concern’ for the species that are abundant in numbers to ‘extinct’ for those that have completely disappeared from the planet.
- Species that come under ‘critically endangered’, ‘endangered’ and ‘vulnerable’ categories are considered threatened.
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