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Red Data Book is a public database that records endangered and rare species of plants, animals, fungi, and local subspecies present in a given area. Red data book provides data on certain species that are on the brink of extinction. The Red List consists of eight categories of species: extinct, extinct in the world, endangered, critically endangered, vulnerable, lower risk, not evaluated, and data deficient.
Read about: Biodiversity and its Conservation
| Table of Content |
Key Terms: IUCN Red Data Book, Red Data Book Definition, Red Data List, Red Data Book Animals, Species Endangerment Status
What is Red Data Book?
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The Red Data Book is a document maintained by a nation or a state to keep a record of every endangered or rare species of animals and plants within its boundary.
Key Points to note about Red Data Book:
- Through its master archives, data of every single endangered species of plants and fungi, and their subsequent sub-species is recorded in the Red Data Book.
- Red Data Book entails detailed knowledge and collected information regarding the rare species and subspecies of a region.
- Red Data Book is updated every quarter with extinction timelines.
- The Book provides scientific information on the updated status of every endangered species and subspecies of a concentrated region.
- Red Data Book records measures to protect and refurbish the endangered species, along with programs employed to monitor the said species.
Also read: Biodiversity and Conservation MCQ
| The Red Data Book: A Brief History
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Objectives of the Red Data Book
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Red Data Book is published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to provide a comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. Following are the objectives behind the production of this book:
- To support and promote biodiversity conservation and draw attention to the unethical extinction drive carried out by corporations.
- To influence domestic and international politics and use clout for swaying policy decisions.
- To support and fund the conversation methodologies and promote sustainable living.
- To provide useful information to people interested in biological conservation.
- To archive the flora and fauna of an evolving planet and register the flourishes and the declines of endangered species.
- To underline the measures employed for the conservation of critically endangered species, along with the science involved in their preservation.
Check out: NCERT Solutions Chapter 15 Biodiversity and Conservation
The Red Data Book: Colour Division
The IUCN Red Data Book includes the following colour categories:
| Colour | Species Endangerment Status |
|---|---|
| Black | Extinct Species |
| Red | Critically Endangered Species |
| Orange | Endangered Species |
| Amber | Vulnerable Species |
| White | Rare Species |
| Green | Out of Danger Species |
| Grey | Rare or Endangered species with lack of scientific information and analysis available |
Figure: Colour Division in Red Data Book
Advantages and Disadvantages of Red Data Book
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The Red Data Book is designed to provide information that helps in conserving the biological riches of the Earth. It also draws attention to the importance of nature and the magnitudes of threats that surround it.
Here are some advantages and disadvantages of Red Data Book:
| Some of the advantages of the Red Data Book
Some of the drawbacks of the Red Data Book
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Red Data Book of India
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India’s tribunal maintains its version of the Red Data Book. Here are some of the identified endangered species of India:
| Critically Endangered Mammals | Malabar Civet (Viverra Civettina) |
| Endangered Mammals | Dhole / Indian Wild Dog (Cuon Alpinus) |
| Lion-tailed Macaque / Wanderoo (Macaca Silenus) | |
| Nilgiri Langur / Nilgiri Leaf Monkey (Trachypithecus Johnii) | |
| Nilgiri tahr (Nilgiritragus Hylocrius) | |
| Vulnerable Mammals | Gaur / Indian Bison |
| Nilgiri Marten (Martes Gwatkinsii) | |
| Critically Endangered Birds | Spoon Billed Sandpiper (Eurynorhynchus Pygmeus) |
| Near Threatened Reptiles | Sispara day gecko (Cnemaspis Sisparensis) |
Reasons for Red Data Book’s conservation practices
The reasons for biological conservation are grouped into three categories:
- Narrowly Utilitarian
The narrowly utilitarian argument calls for biodiversity conservation as a measure to preserve the ecosystem and food chain. For example, more than 25% of drugs are derived from rainforest plants, and conserving the habitats is in our direct interest.
- Broadly Utilitarian
The broadly utilitarian arguments employ the role that biodiversity plays in our ecosystem. Conserving the planet and all its inhabitants is essential for our own survival. Before putting a human value on nature’s free resources, we need to save the ecosystem through aggressive methodologies.
- Ethical
The ethical argument calls for the consideration of millions of animals, plants, and microorganisms that inhabit the planet with human beings.
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| Important Topics | ||
|---|---|---|
| Mutation | Ganga action plan | Endangered Species |
| Montreal Protocol | Environment Protection Act 1986 | Homeostasis |
Things to Remember
- Red Data Book is a state document created to document rare and endangered species of animals, plants, and fungi & some local sub-species existing within the territory of the state or country
- The Red Data Book maintains a comprehensive record of all endangered flora and fauna existing within the respective boundaries of a nation or a state.
- The Red Data Book is maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
- The book is color-coded to help with easy navigation of various species.
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Previous Years Questions
Sample Questions
Ques. Does the Red Data Book cover water species (fauna)? (1 mark)
Ans. Yes. The Red Data Book covers the submerged species of fauna and covers all the endangered subspecies of the deep ocean.
Ques. How important is the Red Data Book? (1 mark)
Ans. The Red Data Book is the most important consolidation of information related to the study of the endangered biodiversity of Earth. Since all the updates regarding the flora and fauna are recorded in the book, it is a good source for a variety of information.
Ques. Do the disadvantages outweigh the advantages of the Red Data Book? (1 mark)
Ans. No. There are far more advantages of the Red Data Book than its minor follies which can be attributed to human error.
Ques. What are the reasons for Red Data Book’s conservation practices? (2 marks)
Ans. The reasons can be broadly categorized into three groups,
a) Narrowly Utilitarian- The narrowly utilitarian argument calls for biodiversity conservation as a measure to preserve the ecosystem and food chain. For example, more than 25% of drugs are derived from rainforest plants, and conserving the habitats is in our direct interest.
b) Broadly Utilitarian- The broadly utilitarian arguments employ the role that biodiversity plays in our ecosystem. Conserving the planet and all its inhabitants are essential for our own survival. Before putting a human value on nature’s free resources, we need to save the ecosystem through aggressive methodologies.
c) Ethical- The ethical argument calls for the consideration of millions of animals, plants, and microorganisms that inhabit the planet with human beings. Spirituality and philosophy call us to realize the intrinsic value of each species that surrounds us and take proactive measures to conserve them.
Ques. Biodiversity must be conserved as it plays an important role in many ecosystem services that nature provides. Explain any two services of the ecosystem. [Delhi 2010] (2 Marks)
Ans. The two ecosystem services are:
(i) Forest ecosystem, mitigates droughts and floods.
(ii) The wildlife help in the pollination of crops.
Ques. There are many animals that have become extinct in the wild but continue to be maintained in zoological parks.
What type of biodiversity conservation is observed in this case?
Explain any other two ways which help this type of conservation. [Delhi 2014] (3 Marks)
Ans. (i) The animals maintained in zoological parks are an example of ex-situ conservation, as it involves threatened animals in special conditions, away from their natural habitat, in order to protect them.
(ii) The other ways of maintaining the endangered animals or species by ex situ conservation are botanical gardens and wildlife safari parks.
Ques. (i) Why is there a need to conserve biodiversity?
(ii) Name and explain any two ways that are responsible for the loss of biodiversity. [All India 2014] (5 Marks)
Ans. (i) The biodiversity needs to be conserved because of three categories:
- Narrow utilitarianism includes most of the resources required for our day-to-day life, e.g. food, oil, clothes, firewood, drugs, medicines, and industrial products all are derived from nature, and thus need to be conserved to reap more benefits.
- Broadly utilitarian includes most of the ecosystem services provided to us by nature. Such as the release of oxygen and fixation of C02 by photosynthesis in plants, pollination, dispersal of seeds, etc. Therefore, for the continuation of these services biodiversity needs to be conserved.
- Ethical reasons as it becomes our moral duty to take care of all living species in our surroundings irrespective of their economic importance and pass this biological legacy to our future generations.
(ii) Hot spots are regions exhibiting a high degree of endemism and great species richness, therefore designating these areas as ‘biodiversity hot spots’ allows for their maximum protection and reduces the ongoing extinction by about 30%.
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