Many of the species and ecosystems are under threat due to anthropogenic interventions. The Species Survival Commission (SSC) of IUCN (World Conservation Union) has been evaluating the conservation status of species and subspecies on a global scale, highlighting those threatened with extinction and promoting their conservation. The Red List published by IUCN remains as an authentic record of threatened species in the world. The 2004 IUCN Red List provides the basic details on the status of biodiversity that can be used by conservation planners and decision-makers around the world to establish priorities for species protection programmes and take the necessary action. 

          Classification into the categories for species threatened with extinction (Vulnerable, Endangered, and Critically Endangered) is through a set of five quantitative criteria that form the heart of the system. These criteria are based on biological factors related to extinction risk and include the following: (i) rate of decline, (ii). population size, (iii). area of geographic distribution, and (iv). degree of population and distribution fragmentation. Among the different categories in the IUCN Red List (2004) which include Critically Rare (CR), Endangered (EN) and Vulnerable (VU) are more relevant in the context of biodiversity conservation. 

           India is the abode for 648 species of animals listed as Globally Threatened by IUCN (2004) which is approximately 8.91 percent of the world's total number of threatened faunal species (7266 species). About 82 species of fauna in Kerala are under various threat categories of IUCN (2004) and one species of Amphibian, namely Philatus travancoricus, is considered extinct which indicates the gravity of the problem of species threats prevailing in the State. The details of number of species of flora and fauna in Kerala belonging to different threat categories as per IUCN Red Data List of Threatened Species (2004) is given below

Number of Species of Flora and Fauna in Kerala Belonging  to Different Threat Categories as per IUCN Red Data list (2004)

RET Database

Source: IUCN Red List 2009 (www.iucnredlist.org)