The Red List of South African plants – A global first

Year of Biodiversity, assessed for the first time the conservation status of all 20 456 of South Africa's described indigenous plant taxa. This assessment, led by the South African National Biodiversity Institute in partnership with a range of organisations and experts, uses the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) Red List 3.1 system, 1 which provides internationally endorsed scientific criteria for assessing the risk of extinction to species. This endeavor is a significant contribution to biodiversity conservation -both nationally and internationally -as it is the first time that any of the world's mega-diverse countries (those that collectively house 70% of the world's biodiversity) has fully assessed the status of its entire flora. The assessment is of global significance as it includes 13 265 endemic taxa (taxa that occur only in South Africa). The assessment of endemic taxa has been submitted to the IUCN Red List programme. They are currently being processed and once included should double the number of plants on the IUCN Global Red List.