Indicator 15.5.1 - Red List Index
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Global Metadata
This table provides information on metadata for SDG indicators as defined by the United Nations Statistical Commission. Complete global metadata documentation on all indicators in Goal 15, unless otherwise noted, is provided by the UN Statistics Division.
| SDG Indicator Name | Red List Index |
|---|---|
| SDG Target Addressed | Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species. |
| Definition of SDG Indicator | Definition The Red List Index is a multi-purpose indicator which measures the aggregate change in extinction risk across groups of species. It is based on the number of species in each category of extinction risk on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. This indicator is expressed as an index ranging from 0 to 1. Concepts Threatened species are those listed on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in the categories Vulnerable, Endangered, or Critically Endangered (i.e., species that are facing a high, very high, or extremely high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future). Changes over time in the proportion of species threatened with extinction are largely driven by improvements in knowledge and changing taxonomy. The IUCN Red List Index (RLI) therefore accounts for such changes to yield a more informative indicator than the simple proportion of threatened species. It measures change in aggregate extinction risk across groups of species over time, resulting from genuine improvements or deteriorations in the status of individual species. It can be calculated for any representative set of species that have been assessed for The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species at least twice. |
| UN Designated Tier | 2 |
| UN Custodial Agency | IUCN (Partnering Agencies: UNEP; CITES) |
U.S. Metadata
This table provides metadata for the actual indicator available from U.S. statistics closest to the corresponding global SDG indicator. Please note that even when the global SDG indicator is fully available from U.S. statistics, this table should be consulted for information on national methodology and other US-specific metadata information
| Method of computation for global SDG indicator | The IUCN RLI is calculated at a point in time by first multiplying the number of species in each Red List Category by a weight (ranging from 1 for 'Near Threatened' to 5 for 'Extinct' and 'Extinct in the Wild') and summing these values. This is then divided by a maximum threat score which is the total number of species multiplied by the weight assigned to the 'Extinct' category. This final value is subtracted from 1 to give the IUCN RLI value. see report for mathematical calculation expression The formula requires that: Exactly the same set of species is included in all time periods, and The only Red List Category changes are those resulting from genuine improvement or deterioration in status (i.e., excluding changes resulting from improved knowledge or taxonomic revisions), and Data Deficient species be excluded. In many cases, species lists will change slightly from one assessment to the next (e.g., owing to taxonomic revisions). The conditions can therefore be met by retrospectively adjusting earlier Red List categorizations using current information and taxonomy. This is achieved by assuming that the current Red List Categories for the taxa have applied since the set of species was first assessed for the Red List, unless there is information to the contrary that genuine status changes have occurred. Such information is often contextual (e.g., relating to the known history of habitat loss within the range of the species). If there is insufficient information available for a newly added species, it is not incorporated into the IUCN RLI until it is assessed for a second time, at which point earlier assessments are retrospectively corrected by extrapolating recent trends in population, range, habitat and threats, supported by additional information. To avoid spurious results from biased selection of species, RLIs are typically calculated only for taxonomic groups in which all species worldwide have been assessed for the Red List, or for samples of species that have been systematically or randomly selected. |
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