The application of IUCN Red List criteria at the national level: a case study of non-Haplochromis fishes in Uganda

Abstract

Abstract Assessing the conservation status of species according to their extinction risk is a major step in conservation planning. To date, most of the assessments have been conducted at a global scale; yet, most conservation efforts are conducted at the national or local scale. Also, the global assessments often do not fit individual countries whose biodiversity may have unique threats that are specific and distinct from those at the global level. Elsewhere, this problem has been addressed by developing national Red Lists; in Uganda, this approach is also taking root, except that it has only focused on terrestrial biota, with limited attention to freshwater biodiversity. To address this gap, we used species occurrence data, integrated with expert knowledge and literature, to assess the extinction risk of 110 non-Haplochromis fishes in Uganda at a national scale. Then, we compared these assessments with the IUCN global red list categories published by 2021. The national threat classifications differed substantially from those at the global level; specifically, more species were threatened at the national level than at the global level. Generally, this finding was expected as has been observed elsewhere, but for the case of Uganda, it was only expected for species with a wide distribution beyond the national boundaries and not for fishes that are geographically restricted, where the global and national threat statuses are expected to be comparable. This finding underscores the importance of national assessments even when species are designated as “Least concern” at the global level. This study constitutes the first national red list for fish species in Uganda. This work has the potential to (i) trigger site-based conservation and rethinking of the extent of protected areas, (ii) stimulate data collection, especially in areas where fishes are designated as “Data Deficient”, and (iii) aid updating of the regional and global IUCN Red List assessments, for which conservation status of the majority non-Haplochromis species is outdated and many others remain unevaluated.