Definition: Species at risk

Category: Forestry

Species in IUCN categories "vulnerable", "conservation dependent" and "near threatened".
A species is "vulnerable" when it is not critically endangered or endangered (see "Endangered species"), but is facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the medium-term future. A "conservation dependent" species is one which is the focus of a continuing species-specific or habitat-specific conservation programme, the cessation of which would result in the species qualifying for one of the threatened species categories within a period of five years. "Near threatened" species are ones that do not meet the criterion of conservation dependent but which are close to qualifying as vulnerable.