27 November 2018
Alliance for Zero Extinction Assessment Finds 43 Percent of Critical Sites Unprotected
UN Photo/Eva Fendiaspara
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The assessment maps the ranges of 1,483 highly threatened species known to only occur in a single site.

To qualify for AZE status, a site must be the last known location of a critically endangered or endangered species, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species extinction threat categories.

16 November 2018: The international Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) released an assessment that finds concerted action is necessary to protect sites that are home to highly threatened species. AZE released the assessment in advance of the 14th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 14) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

AZE is a global partnership that works to identify, map and safeguard sites that are home to highly threatened species. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP, or UN Environment) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) supported the assessment as part of the ‘Alliance for Zero Extinction: Conserving Earth’s Most Irreplaceable Sites for Endangered Biodiversity’ project, which is led by BirdLife International, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and American Bird Conservancy (ABC). The protection of AZE sites is a recognized indicator for the CBD Aichi Biodiversity Targets 11 and 12.

The assessment maps the ranges of 1,483 highly threatened species known to only occur in a single site. To qualify for AZE status, a site must be the last known location of a critically endangered or endangered species, according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species extinction threat categories. The assessment classifies 853 sites as AZE sites and finds that 43 percent of AZE sites are currently unprotected. Among the 1,483 global AZE trigger species, 41 percent are amphibians, 15 percent are mammals, 13 percent are birds, ten percent are freshwater crustaceans, nine percent are cacti, four percent are cycads and eight percent are classified as other taxa.

Recognition of AZE sites as key biodiversity areas can improve lives through preserving local biodiversity.

AZE Chairman Mike Parr, who also serves as ABC President, emphasized that it has “been proven that well-managed protected areas prevent extinctions.” He said over 20 governments are taking action to protect their AZE sites, but stressed that urgent action is needed from all 109 countries and territories with AZE sites to protect these unique places and species.

The assessment provides evidence that effective protection can improve species’ status. As an illustration, Colombia established the Ranita Amphibian Reserve to protect two species of poison dart frogs (Andinobates dorisswansonae and Andinobates tolimense), an action that has improved the species’ status to the extent that neither frog qualifies as an AZE trigger species any longer. In the US, the ABC, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and others successfully translocated the Millerbird (Acrocephalus familiaris) to a second Hawaiian island, which means that the species now occurs in two sites and is no longer considered an AZE trigger species. Brazil, one of the countries with the most AZE sites, became the first country to enact legislation to ensure that AZE sites are taken into account in national development and conservation planning.

In a press release, UNEP biodiversity expert Ersin Esen underscored the importance of conserving AZE sites beyond conservation benefits and preventing extinction of endangered species. Esen explained that the recognition and protection of AZE sites as key biodiversity areas “have the potential not just to save species but to improve lives” through preserving local biodiversity, protecting water sources, mitigating climate change effects and providing cultural and other ecosystem services.

As part of the wider project, AZE is working with the Governments of Brazil, Chile and Madagascar to improve management of AZE sites to halt global extinctions and safeguard key habitats for endangered species. The AZE project also works with key financial institutions to integrate conservation of threatened species into their environmental safeguard policies.

COP 14 is taking place in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, from 17-29 November 2018. [IUCN Press Release] [UNEP Press Release] [AZE Website] [AZE Project Webpage]


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