Brussels, 03/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - 13% of the birds in the European Union and 7.5% of all species of marine fish in European waters are under threat of extinction, according to the latest European red list of threatened species, which was published on Wednesday 3 June by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and funded by the European Commission.
This alarming observation will feed into the debates of European Green Week (3-5 June), which has just opened in Brussels (see EUROPE 11326). This major event, which is organised by the European Commission (Directorate General for the Environment) to raise public awareness of the stakes and implementation of the environmental legislation of the EU, is this year dedicated to nature and biodiversity, with the slogan “Nature, our health, our wealth”.
These new figures will be taken into account in the revision of the EU strategy for biodiversity, to be published in autumn 2015. They will also feed into the 'fitness check' of the European nature protection directives 'Habitats' and 'Wild birds', currently underway as part of the REFIT programme, with a view to a possible revision early next year (see EUROPE 11318, 11294).
The first ever complete assessment of 1,220 European marine species shows that despite successes in the conservation of certain species (stocks of cod and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic are recovering), sharks and rays are increasingly endangered. 40.4% of them are threatened with extinction and 39.7 have experienced a decline in their population. The angel shark (Squatina squatina), which was previously found in all European waters, is in serious danger (the highest danger level) and is now found only in the Canary Islands.
Overfishing has been identified as one of the greatest threats. However, land-use change, pollution, the development of infrastructure and climate change also contribute to the situation.
As regards birds, 67 species out of the 533 studied are under threat - ten of them critically so. These are emblematic birds such as the sociable lapwing, the yellow-breasted bunting and the slender-billed curlew. However, the targeted conservation measures implemented for certain species have paid off. Twenty species previously under threat, such as the Dalmatian pelican, the stone curlew, the black kite and the lesser kestrel, are now classed as species of “minor concern”.
European Green Week 2015 will look at many different subjects, such as renewing the bonds between society and nature and biodiversity, biodiversity and climate change, green jobs and growth, sustainable agriculture, forests and health.
It will be rounded off by the awards ceremony rewarding the European Green Capital 2018 and the European Green Leaf 2016, the awards ceremony for the best environmental projects under the LIFE programme and an exhibition of solutions related to nature and biodiversity. (Aminata Niang)