By Matik Kueth
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), reported that more than one-third of the world’s trees are in danger of going extinct, endangering all life on the planet.
In a statement obtained by King News on Tuesday, Craig Hilton-Taylor, head of the IUCN’s Red List Unit, said the number of endangered trees is more than twice as many as the total number of threatened birds, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians.
“We have assessed the status of the majority of the world’s tree species, so that’s about 47,000 species, and of those, one in three, or 38 percent of them are threatened with extinction,” Hilton-Taylor said.
An undated photo of some trees that were cut down somewhere in the world [Photo – Courtesy]
According to Hilton-Taylor, the largest threat to trees worldwide is deforestation, habitat loss from increased agriculture (both crops and grazing), and the growing threat of climate change, emphasizing the importance of invasive species.
“So, the urgency is high. We need to act now. Species are declining. Unless we start acting now, we will not stop these declines in time and those species will go extinct,” he stressed.
He highlighted that 25 percent of tree species in South America, home to the majority of the world’s trees, face potential extinction. In Africa, where forests are far less abundant, an alarming 45 percent of tree species are considered endangered. These findings were presented in the organization’s inaugural Global Tree Assessment, released to coincide with the United Nations COP16 biodiversity summit in Colombia.
The IUCN Red List, the global authority on threatened species, now includes over a quarter of the world’s tree species. In response, the IUCN has urged for increased tree planting to restore and maintain forests, alongside efforts to safeguard endangered species through botanical gardens and seed banks.