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| Photo : Harry Andrews |
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| Gharials Uplisted to
“Critically Endangered” in IUCN Red List |
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In 2006 the Gharial Conservation Alliance (then
known as the Gharial Multi-Task Force or GMTF)
submitted a proposal to the International
Conservation Union (IUCN) for the uplisting of
gharial from “Endangered” to “Critically
Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species. This proposal followed the 2006 GMTF
gharial population survey, which revealed there
were less than 200 mature breeding adults left
in the wild, a 58% decline in population since
1997, and 96% decline since the 1940’s. The
proposal was accepted and the IUCN officially
listed the Gharial as “Critically Endangered in
the 2007 Red List. See the recent IUCN press
release here.
The Red List categories of threatened species
range in increasing severity from “Least
Concern” to “Extinct”. The category of
“Critically Endangered” is the most threatened
category for existing wild |
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Download the IUCN official press release here |
species,being just
one step below the categories of “Extinct in the
Wild” and “Extinct”. The Gharial, now listed as
“Critically Endangered”, sit on the brink of
extinction.
Though it is alarming that the gharial is in
such dire straights its inclusion as “Critically
Endangered” in the Red List gives
internationally recognized credibility to the
gharial conservation movement, and places
gharials as a significant conservation priority.
The GCA hopes the gravity of the Gharial’s
change in status will help persuade the
governments of gharial range areas to take
appropriate action for their protection. |
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