What is the Endangered Species Act?
The Endangered Species Act is a congressional act passed in 1973 by the United States of America, in it recognizing the existence of threats to the continuation of species, often due to human activity and listing ways to catalogue and protect at risk species in the United States. Some species protected by the act are foreign to U.S. land, but still occur within it in some form, usually through migration.
What is an endangered species?
The U.S. Endangered Species Act classifies an endangered species as "any species which is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range other than a species of the Class Insecta determined by the Secretary to constitute a pest whose protection under the provisions of this Act would present an overwhelming and overriding risk to man." Because they don't specify how a species must be endangered, this means that the law recognizes certain species are also endangered for natural reasons, but that they still deserve our protection.
The I.C.U.N.
The ICUN, or International Union for Conservation of Nature is the global collective of conservationists and acts as a leading figure in the fight to preserve our planet's biodiversity. They are also responsible for the ICUN Red List, which is a comprehensive global list of all species affected by population loss, ranging from the Least Concern (LC) to Extinct (EX). The total number of Vulnerable (VU), Endangered (ED), and Critically Endangered (CR) species worldwide is 24,307 species consisting of plants, animals, fungi, and chromists (photosynthetic algae).
The ICUN is not connected to the Endangered Species Act, but is a separate entity. However, in the ESA it states that foreign organizations can influence whether or not a species is protected by the united states government.
The ICUN is not connected to the Endangered Species Act, but is a separate entity. However, in the ESA it states that foreign organizations can influence whether or not a species is protected by the united states government.
How does a species get put on the list
Species are put on the Red List when enough evidence is collected to determine that they are experiencing population decline reminiscent of an extinction event. However, species are categorized by how imminent the extinction is. Theoretically, this process is unbiased, but not all species are created equal and a species placement on the red list is accelerated often depending on how cute or charismatic it is, or how useful it might be. For example, There are 12,630 species of animals labelled as either Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically endangered, yet only 28 species of fungi. This isn't to say that fungi aren't experiencing extinction cirses,but that not enough research is being done.