The State Institute for Nature Protection of Croatia and the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts have launched two bird conservation publications of great importance, the Red Book of Birds of Croatia and the Croatian Bird Migration Atlas. On this occasion, all the so far published Red lists and Red data books of Croatia were exhibited, celebrating the 50th anniversary of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™.
The Red Book of Birds of Croatia (eds. V.Tutiš, J.Kralj, D.Radović, D.Ćiković and S.Barišić) published by the Ministry of Environmental and Nature Protection and the State Institute for Nature Protection of Croatia, represents the foundation for the protection of bird populations in the country. It evaluates the vulnerability of each bird species nesting, wintering or regularly migrating across Croatia and reveals that 39% of 235 evaluated nesting bird species are facing the risk of extinction, being listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable.
The Croatian Bird Migration Atlas (eds. J.Kralj, S.Barišić, V.Tutiš and D.Ćiković) published by the Croatian Academy of Sciences and Arts reveals the results of a 100-year long ringing project (1910-2010) in Croatia, during which 1.163.962 birds have been marked. The atlas offers an insight into the dynamics and routes of Croatian birds’ migration, as well as the European populations migrating over or wintering in Croatia. "The Red lists/data books are the contemporary tools we apply to measure the extinction rate of biodiversity," said Dr Matija Franković, Director of the State Institute for Nature Protection of Croatia opening the publications' launch on 5 March in Zagreb.
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. It is a „living tool“ which requires permanent revision, so that it can reflect the possible changes of the species' conservation status. First Red lists and Red data books of Croatia were published in the 90's. However, since 2000 a more systematic approach in line with the IUCN Red List Criteria has been taken, resulting in 19 Red Lists and 11 Red Books published so far.
"The two recently launched publications are key for assuring a science-based approach to species conservation," said Mr Boris Erg, Director of IUCN Programme Office for South-Eastern Europe. "It is our pleasure to see the continuous progress on Red Lists development in Croatia. However, the figures reveal that there is a need for less pressure on biodiversity if we want to see the bird populations on the path of recovery," Mr Erg added.
Throughout 2014 a significant contribution of The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ in guiding conservation action and policy decisions over the past 50 years is celebrated. In this period many species groups including mammals, amphibians, birds, reef building corals and conifers have been comprehensively assessed. However, there is much more to be done and increased investment is needed urgently to build The IUCN Red List into a more complete ‘Barometer of Life’. To do this the number of species assessed from the current count of 71,576 to at least 160,000 has to be increased by 2020, improving the taxonomic coverage and thus providing a stronger base to enable better conservation and policy decisions.