LIFE and Europe’s endangered species

The recent publications of the European Red List on amphibians and reptiles underlines the important role of LIFE in contributing to the conservation status of these endangered species.

Conservation of European species remains one of the fundamental driving forces behind EU biodiversity policy. Actions in support of this strategic goal are wide ranging and extend from programmes promoting technological advances that reduce pollution hazards to projects undertaking dedicated restoration work on wildlife habitats.

Unsurprisingly, EU policy priorities in these areas target Europe’s most endangered species, and the European Commission contracted the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to assess around 6 000 European species as to their risk of extinction. This large-scale assessment exercise clarifies the conservation status of individual species featured in the European Red List, and results are being applied to both assist vulnerable populations, as well as reinforce endangered species’ legal protection.

While Red List up-dates continue for European fish, butterflies, dragonflies, saproxylic (dead wood) beetles, molluscs and selected vascular plants, assessment work has now been completed for mammals, reptiles and amphibians. The information became available earlier this year and is available on-line via a recently revamped European Red List website. New search and download functions on the site provide easy access to key findings concerning the conservation assessments for specific species, as well as methodologies involved in determining Red List protection priorities.

Conclusions

Conclusion from the assessments completed to date reveal that the achievement of EU biodiversity protection targets still remains a complex challenge and many species continue to be classified at risk. Reptiles and amphibians top the list of Europe’s most endangered species and amphibians are recognised as the planet’s most threatened group of animals, with one in three of the globally 6 000 known amphibian species considered at risk of extinction. Efforts to improve the fate of these species were discussed during August at an Amphibian Mini Summit in London. The event brought togther amphibian specialists from around the world and established a new Amphibian Survival Alliance with objectives to protect Red List species from natural hazards and habitat destruction.

LIFE projects have been active in these fields and LIFE experiences provide valuable good practice for the red listed species. A considerable critical mass of conservation know-how has been developed by LIFE projects and this was recently published in the Programme’s new Focus brochure about LIFE support for Europe’s reptiles and amphibians (collectively known as herpetofauna).

Some sixty different projects assisting a variety of herpetofauna habitat restoration works, captive breeding initiatives, reintroduction actions and awareness raising campaigns are noted in the brochure. These include LIFE successes such as:

• Greece’s LIFE02NAT/GR/008500 project, which helped reduce mortality risks to Loggerhead turtles including providing turtle rehab services for animals stranded following accidents with fishing equipment;
• Spain’s consecutive LIFE042NAT/E/008614 and LIFE06NAT/E/000199 conservation actions supporting recovery strategies to sustain Giant Lizard populations on the Canary Islands;
• Estonia’s LIFE04NAT/EE/000070 project covering habitat restoration activities for great crested newts in the Eastern Baltic; and
• The Netherland’s LIFE04NAT/NL/000201 coordinated ‘LIFE Ambition’ work involving securing the future of endangered frogs, toads and newts.

Other LIFE achievements featured in the new Focus brochure include interesting approaches to reintroducing Hermann’s Tortoise in Romania, as well as a sample of projects creating nature conservation benefits for the rare but distinctive fire-bellied toad.

Copies of the new LIFE Nature brochure are available from the website’s publications section and the European Red List website offers more information about regional Red List actions.