What are the IUCN Red Lists

In 1964, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) established the Red Lists. IUCN is a body with the participation of dozens of state organisations and more than 10,000 researchers, whose purpose is "to influence, encourage and assist societies worldwide to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that all uses of natural resources are equitable and ecologically sustainable". In a nutshell, IUCN's goal is to try to raise awareness among people and institutions towards the protection of species and biodiversity (and we know how important this is), thus of their habitats, so that future generations can also benefit.

Since 2001, species have been classified according to the system we still use today, in which the various categories are drawn up according to criteria that allow species to be placed in 3 macrocategories, each with some subcategories. The first is the Least Threatened category and includes those species assessed to be of significant concern, divided into 'Least Concern', LC (Least Concern) and 'Near Threatened', NT (Near-Threatened), i.e. when a species is close to threatened but not yet seriously endangered. The next category includes the most threatened species, grouped into 'Vulnerable' VU, 'Endangered' EN (Endangered) and 'Critically Endangered' CE (Critically Endangered) depending on the severity of the threat, the number of specimens and the status of their habitat. The last category includes extinct species, grouped into 'Extinct in the Wild' (EW, exctinct in the wild) and 'Extinct' EX.

These categories give us indications of the state of the species and based on this, measures can be implemented that will hopefully allow the preservation of threatened species. These measures will then be studied on the basis of further indications provided by the IUCN on the needs of the species, which generally range from hunting and gathering bans to the creation of restocking areas and, above all, habitat protection. Let us take the case of highly localised species: habitat protection is a key element in preserving the range where these species live. However, habitat protection is always important and projects such as 3Bee's Oases of Biodiversity allow all species, more or less endangered, to always find a habitat that is best preserved for their needs.

In the Red Lists, some might expect to find those iconic and charismatic animals that we know so well, such as the panda, the snow leopard or the snowy owl. Although they are obviously present, it is not only large vertebrates that are included: in fact the lists also include birds, reptiles, fish, molluscs, insects and plants. As far as insects are concerned, in Italy there are specific sections of the list for saproxylic beetles, i.e. those that feed on dead wood, for flies (we have talked about their importance here), bellulas and for wild bees.

If on a global level a species is present in large numbers, it is not necessarily the case that on a regional level it is doing just as well. This is a problem because, in the long run, the risk is that the genetic pool of a species is reduced and, in turn, this could pose a problem for the future of the species itself. There may also be subspecies, but these must be evaluated in their own right and it may be the case that subspecies are endangered, despite the fact that overall the species is not threatened. To cite a case that is sadly known to experts, Carabus clatratus is a species of carabid beetle related to aquatic environments found in much of Europe, but the Italian subspecies, Carabus clatratus antonellii, is unfortunately extinct. One species that is fortunately still present is Rosalia alpina, a beautiful blue cerambicide, whose numbers are quite substantial, especially in the forests of Eastern Europe, but in the Italian Red List it is classified NT.

One thing many people know is that wild bees are threatened and their numbers have been declining for years now, despite the fact that they are enormously important as pollinators. The IUCN's Italian Red List helps us to understand which species are the most threatened and, at the same time, thanks to the indications provided by experts, what actions need to be taken to safeguard them. In the Red List of Threatened Italian Bees, 151 species were assessed, of which 34 were found to be at risk of extinction or close to extinction: 7 are critically endangered (CE) or presumed extinct, 10 endangered (EN), 4 vulnerable (VU) and the remaining 13 close to threatened (NT).

Bombus confusus is one of those cases classified in the Red List of Threatened Italian Bees as critically endangered and even presumed extinct: there are very few reports of the presence of this species and they stop around the 1950s. The species was present in the Alps, between Veneto, South Tyrol and a single report in Lombardy, but there have been no reports since then. The causes of the probable disappearance include urbanisation and reforestation of low-altitude clearings, over-exploitation of grasslands and changing agricultural practices. The good news is that the species fares better at the European level: it is present in many states beyond the Alps, from Spain to Eastern Europe, but unfortunately remains classified as VU on the European Red List.

Halictus carinthiacus is classified EN in both the Italian and European Red Lists. It is an Alpine species, as in the previous case, with a very fragmented distribution over an overall very limited territory, therefore with little possibility of interchange between populations, and the most recent data only concern Piedmont. Even at a European level, the situation is very similar, with populations present more or less over the entire Alpine arc, but still rather fragmented and threatened by urban development, agriculture, but above all by the climate change and the temperature variation associated with it, which directly modify the development of the species and indirectly cause variations in the flowering period of the plants it pollinates.

Lasioglossum podolicum is on the Red List as NT in both Italy and Europe . This species has a very interesting behaviour, as it is a kleptoparasite of other species: this means that it invades nests of other species to steal food resources. L. podolicum is present in many European states and beyond, its range extending from Spain, via Switzerland, Croatia and Greece, to Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. In Italy it has only been reported in the area of Mount Etna, in Sicily. The problem is the fragmented distribution of this species in all these states, a distribution that does not allow an adequate exchange of individuals and therefore of genes, leaving small populations isolated from each other and potentially exposed to dangers of various kinds, from habitat loss to the effects of climate change.

Red Lists are a fundamental tool for species conservation, because they identify those whose risk of extinction, global or local, is imminent. Extinction is an irreversible phenomenon, involving the disappearance of a species' genetic make-up, adapted in the course of evolution to a unique ecological niche. However, local extinction is also a phenomenon that is difficult to reverse because it necessitates reintroduction operations with uncertain outcomes. Do you know of any bee species at risk of extinction? Would you like to do something to help them? 3Bee has been working since 2017 to protect and preserve pollinator species and you too can contribute through the project Adopt a Polly Gentle Bee. Businesses can also do their part by joining the Oasis of Biodiversity project: an opportunity for those whose business has already started a path in the field of sustainability and wants to consolidate it with an additional piece.