Iberian lynx recovery potential: results of the first Green Status of Species assessment

Journal article

The reduction in the extinction risk of the Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus from Critically Endangered to Vulnerable is proof that conservation can work to bring species back from the brink. However, that does not mean that the work of conservation is over; preventing extinction is merely the first step on the road to recovery. In 2021, the International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN expanded the Red List of Threatened Species assessment to include a standardised assessment of species recovery: The IUCN Green Status of Species. The Green Status of Species assessment assigns species to recovery categories, complementary to the classic extinction risk categories. In addition, the Green Status of Species provides a method to evaluate the impact of past conservation, and the potential for future conservation impact, on species’ status. In 2023, the firstever Green Status assessment for the Iberian lynx was conducted. Though the species’ status has improved greatly over the past decades, its Green Status has nonetheless been assessed as Largely Depleted, indicating that there is more work to do to restore the species to pre-impact levels. However, the assessment also indicates that without past conservation actions, the species would likely be Extinct in the Wild today. The assessment also indicates a high Recovery Potential, meaning that it would be possible to recover the species across much of its former range with concerted conservation effort.

Authors: Grace, M; Carlton, E

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group
• Journal: Cat News
• Issue: Special Issue 17
• Pages: 38-41
• Publication date: 2024-07-31
• Acceptance date: 2024-07-31
• ISSN: 1027-2992
• Language: English