The world’s biodiversity crisis took center stage this week as the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) released its latest Red List of Threatened Species at the World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi on October 10, 2025. The update, which is widely regarded as the most authoritative global assessment of extinction risks, paints a sobering picture: out of 172,620 species assessed, a staggering 48,646 are now threatened with extinction, according to IUCN figures reported by CNN and other outlets. This includes not just animals, but also plants and fungi, underscoring the breadth of the challenge facing humanity and the natural world.
One of the most alarming findings from the new Red List is the plight of Arctic seals. The hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), previously listed as Vulnerable, has now been moved to the Endangered category. Meanwhile, both the bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) and the harp seal (Pagophilus groenlandicus) have shifted from Least Concern to Near Threatened. The driving force behind these changes is the rapid loss of sea ice in the Arctic, a direct consequence of global warming. According to the IUCN, the Arctic is warming at a rate four times faster than the global average, causing the ice that these seals rely on for breeding, resting, and feeding to thin and disappear at an unprecedented pace.
“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. Their plight is a stark reminder that climate change is not a distant problem – it has been unfolding for decades and is having impacts here and now. Protecting Arctic seals goes beyond these species; it is about safeguarding the Arctic’s delicate balance, which is essential for us all,” said Dr Kit Kovacs, Co-Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Pinniped Specialist Group and Svalbard Programme Leader at the Norwegian Polar Institute, in a statement provided by the IUCN and cited by multiple sources.
The challenges facing Arctic seals go beyond just melting ice. Increased human activity—such as shipping, oil and mineral exploitation, and noise—along with hunting and accidental bycatch in fisheries, are compounding the threats. As sea ice recedes, the Arctic becomes more accessible, further increasing the risk to these already vulnerable species. The IUCN and conservationists warn that the decline of these seals will ripple throughout the Arctic food web. Seals are a keystone species, serving as both predator and prey; their health is intimately tied to that of polar bears, walruses, and even Indigenous communities that have depended on them for generations.
But the Arctic is not the only region under threat. The IUCN Red List update also shines a spotlight on the world’s birds, revealing that 61% of bird species now have declining populations—a sharp rise from 44% in 2016. Of the 11,185 bird species assessed, 1,256 (11.5%) are considered globally threatened. The main culprits? Habitat loss and degradation, driven by agricultural expansion, intensification, and logging. The situation is particularly dire in biodiversity hotspots such as Madagascar, West Africa, and Central America, where tropical forests are shrinking at an alarming rate. In Madagascar alone, 14 endemic forest bird species have been uplisted to Near Threatened and three to Vulnerable, including the striking Schlegel’s asity (Philepitta schlegeli).
“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, BirdLife’s Global Science Coordinator and Bird Red List Authority Coordinator, in remarks cited by the IUCN and CNN. The update also highlights the ecological importance of birds: hornbills, for example, can disperse up to 12,700 large seeds per square kilometer each day, supporting forest regeneration and carbon storage—critical functions in the fight against climate change.
Despite the grim news, the Red List update offers a glimmer of hope. The global population of the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) has rebounded by about 28% since the 1970s, allowing the species to be downlisted from Endangered to Least Concern. This recovery is a testament to decades of sustained conservation work, including the protection of nesting females and their eggs, community-based efforts to reduce unsustainable harvesting, curtailment of trade, and the use of Turtle Excluder Devices to minimize bycatch in fishing gear. Success stories from Ascension Island, Brazil, Mexico, and Hawai’i show what is possible when local and global efforts align.
“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. Such approaches must focus not only on the turtles, but on keeping their habitats healthy, and their ecological functions intact. 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,” said Roderic Mast, Co-Chair of IUCN’s Species Survival Commission Marine Turtle Specialist Group, as quoted by the IUCN.
Yet, even this bright spot comes with caveats. Green turtles remain significantly depleted compared to their numbers before European colonization, and threats such as habitat destruction, ongoing direct take, fisheries bycatch, and climate change—particularly the impact on nesting beaches—persist. For instance, in the Southwest Pacific, home to the world’s largest nesting rookery at Raine Island, Australia, several years of declining hatchling production have raised new concerns.
The Red List update also marks the extinction of six species, including the Christmas Island shrew (Crocidura trichura), a species of cone snail (Conus lugubris), the slender-billed curlew (Numenius tenuirostris), and several Australian mammals and a Hawaiian plant. These losses serve as a stark reminder of what is at stake if current trends continue unchecked.
The IUCN World Conservation Congress, held every four years, brings together conservation leaders, scientists, Indigenous peoples, and policymakers to share knowledge and develop joint strategies. This year’s event in Abu Dhabi is especially timely, as the world looks ahead to the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Brazil. The IUCN’s message is clear: climate and biodiversity are two sides of the same coin, and protecting one helps the other. As Dr Grethel Aguilar, IUCN Director General, put it, “While species like Arctic seals and many birds face growing threats, the recovery of the green turtle reminds us that conservation works when we act with determination and unity.”
With biodiversity and climate change so deeply intertwined, the world’s response in the coming months may well determine the fate of countless species—and the health of the planet itself.
