Biodiversity and Conservation Test - 9

International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, is called as World Conservation Union, network of environmental organizations founded as the International Union for the Protection of Nature in October 1948 in Fontainebleau, France, to promote nature conservation and the ecologically sustainable use of natural resources.

Sacred lake is a pool of water generally near religious places where catching fish and other aquatic animals are strictly prohibited. Khecheopalari Lake of Sikkim is a sacred lake in India among many.

In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms (taxon), normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point. For example Dodo.

A critically endangered (CR) species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild. It's the highest risk category assigned by the IUCN Red List for wild species. In India, about 18 animals and 44 plant species are critically endangered.

Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community. Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches.

Rare endangered and endemic taxa can be found intact and flourishing in sacred groves.

Indeterminate species that are susceptible to being in danger, but reason of extinction is not known and we do not have enough information to place them in another category.

For example- short eared rabbit of Sumatra and Mexican Prairie Dog.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is the foremost authority on threatened species, and treats threatened species not as a single category, but as a group of three categories, depending on the degree to which they are threatened:

• Vulnerable species
• Endangered species
• Critically endangered species

A vulnerable species is one which has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as likely to become endangered unless the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve. Population of Vulnerable species is sufficient but is undergoing depletion due to some factors so that it is facing risk of extinction in medium term in future.

This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction,

The purpose of preparation of red list is to Provide awareness to the degree of threat to biodiversity, Preparing conservation priorities and help in conservation action and Identification and documentation of species at high risk of extinction.

IUCN (The International Union For Conservation Of Nature And Natural Resources) employs approximately 1000 full-time staff in more than 50 countries. Its headquarters are in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN has observer and consultative status at the United Nations, and plays a role in the implementation of several international conventions on nature conservation and biodiversity.