The green turtle is back from the brink of extinction in a major victory for conservationists.
Populations have recovered so much its status has been downgraded from “endangered” to “least concern” in an update to the official red list compiled by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) .
Numbers have increased by more than a quarter since the 1970s as a result of focused conservation efforts to reduce hunting and egg-harvesting for food.
The species is of vital importance to its native habitat of tropical coral reefs but it almost became extinct after English sailors discovered its meat was delicious and turtle soup became a sought after dish in the UK in the 18th century.
Roderic Mast of the IUCN said: “The ongoing global recovery of the green turtle is a powerful example of what coordinated global conservation, over decades, can achieve to stabilise and even restore populations of long-lived marine species.
“Sea turtles cannot survive without healthy oceans and coasts and humans can’t either. Sustained conservation efforts are key to assuring that this recovery lasts.”
Other positives from the updated list include the tiger showing signs that its decline has been slowed. It is still endangered and extinct in nine of the 24 areas in its traditional range but there are signs that protection efforts are working.
A new “green status” to track the success of conservation efforts found the tiger to be “critically depleted” but numbers have increased for the first time in more than a century.
Climate change is also continuing to harm animal populations, with three species of Arctic seal, for example, experiencing declines because of warming waters and melting ice.
“Each year in Svalbard, the retreating sea ice reveals how threatened Arctic seals have become, making it harder for them to breed, rest and feed,” said Dr Kit Kovacs, co-chairman of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Pinniped Specialist Group.
Bird numbers nosedive
The IUCN also provides an update for all bird species worldwide and found 61 per cent are in decline, up from 44 per cent in 2016.
“That three in five of the world’s bird species have declining populations shows how deep the biodiversity crisis has become and how urgent it is that governments take the actions they have committed to under multiple conventions and agreements,” said Dr Ian Burfield of BirdLife, the designated Red List Authority for birds.
The latest Red List update has also declared six species as officially extinct, including the Christmas Island shrew and a species of cone snail only found in Cape Verde, West Africa.
The other officially extinct species are the slender-billed curlew shorebird, an unspecified tree which is similar to ebony, and three Australian mammals – two bandicoots and the marl.