Gharials Uplisted to “Critically Endangered” in IUCN Red List
In 2006 the Gharial Conservation Alliance (then known as the Gharial Multi-Task Force or GMTF) submitted a proposal to the International Conservation Union (IUCN) for the uplisting of gharial from “Endangered” to “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This proposal followed the 2006 GMTF gharial population survey, which revealed there were less than 200 mature breeding adults left in the wild, a 58% decline in population since 1997, and 96% decline since the 1940’s. The proposal was accepted and the IUCN officially listed the Gharial as “Critically Endangered in the 2007 Red List. See the recent IUCN press release here.
Download the IUCN official press release here
The Red List categories of threatened species range in increasing severity from “Least Concern” to “Extinct”. The category of “Critically Endangered” is the most threatened category for existing wild species,being just one step below the categories of “Extinct in the Wild” and “Extinct”. The Gharial, now listed as “Critically Endangered”, sit on the brink of extinction.
Though it is alarming that the gharial is in such dire straights its inclusion as “Critically Endangered” in the Red List gives internationally recognized credibility to the gharial conservation movement, and places gharials as a significant conservation priority. The GCA hopes the gravity of the Gharial’s change in status will help persuade the governments of gharial range areas to take appropriate action for their protection.
