The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is internationally recognised as the most respected and robust inventory of global species conservation status. It provides a standard and repeatable method for assessing the extinction risk of a species and has been extraordinarily successful at drawing attention to biodiversity loss around the world.

Given the success of the IUCN Red List and its Categories and Criteria, there was quickly demand for an equivalent approach to assess species status at smaller scales—more practical for conservation planning, which primarily occurs at the local, national, or regional level.

In 2003, IUCN published guidelines to help apply these methods at regional and national levels (see Regional Assessment Guidelines for details and the most up-to-date guidance).

The Role of National Red Lists

Regional and National Red Lists provide countries with key information about species status within their borders, supporting effective protection of biodiversity and informing national conservation policies.

They also help countries report progress towards international commitments, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets, by:

• Determining conservation status and trends of species
• Identifying species or ecosystems under greatest threat
• Identifying species or ecosystems showing signs of recovery
• Contributing to conservation planning and priority setting processes, including National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs)
• Incorporating biodiversity values into national and local development and planning processes
• Raising awareness of biodiversity and threatened species

Origins and Governance

The National Red List Database (NRLD) was launched at COP10 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Nagoya (2010) with over 70,000 species assessments from 45 regions. It was co-developed by ZSL and the Centro Internacional de Ecología Tropical in Venezuela, marking the first global effort to consolidate sub-global extinction risk data and create a national assessor network.

Today, the NRLD is hosted by ZSL and coordinated by the National Red List Working Group (NRLWG), a technical group under the IUCN SSC Red List Committee and has been redeveloped in consultation with national focal points. The initiative is also guided by the National Red List Alliance (NRLA), established in 2013 to strengthen national red listing globally.

The National Red List Platform

This website is the central point of call for all involved in working on and researching sub-global Red Lists. It provides a trusted space to share data, showcase assessments, and connect with a global network of experts. Through this platform, contributors can exchange experiences, access guidance, and learn best practices for applying Red List methodologies at national and regional scales.

At its core is the National Red List Database (NRLD), which consolidates subnational, national, and regional Red Lists from across the world in a standardised format. By bringing this information together, the platform promotes visibility of national efforts, encourages open access to biodiversity data, and supports collaboration among practitioners.

Partners and Contributors

Many thanks to all the country representatives, organisations and institutions who have contributed time, funding, or data to this initiative.

If you’d like to get involved, please email the National Red List.

Special thanks to The Rufford Foundation for their generous ongoing support of the Red Listing work at ZSL, which hosts the National Red List Database and website.