SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, May 19. (EUROPE PRESS) –
The report ‘The State of Biodiversity in Spain’, prepared by the Macaronesian Species Survival Center of the Loro Parque Fundación and the Spanish Committee of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, states that in the Canary Islands there are 101 species in critically endangered and 141 endangered.
The study, collected by Europa Press, indicates that the most threatened taxonomic group taking into account the two previous categories is that of plants with 119 species, 44 molluscs and 31 arthropods.
For example, one of these species is the crested rooster (Isoplexis chalcantha), categorized as critically endangered according to the IUCN ‘Red List’ and endemic to the island of Gran Canaria, so it cannot be found anywhere else. Place of the world.
Regarding the comparative analysis between the IUCN ‘Red List’ and the Canary Islands Catalog of Protected Species, a 69% disagreement was obtained between the two catalogues, being the groups of cartilaginous fish, cnidarians and bony fish, where there is a greater discrepancy, that is to say that its level of protection does not coincide with the degree of threat of the IUCN.
In addition, several critically endangered biodiversity hotspots were identified in the Canary Islands, coinciding with Timijiraque, Las Playas and Tibataje on the island of Hierro, the Garajonay National Park on La Gomera, the Punta de Teno area on Tenerife, the Peninsula de la Isleta and the Rural Park of Doramas in Gran Canaria and in the South, the Natural Park of Jandía and Chuchillos de Vigán in Fuerteventura.
When comparing the protected areas with the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), an overlap of 75% was obtained, so there are 25% of KBAs in the Canary Islands that are not within protected natural areas.
In Spain, according to data from the IUCN ‘Red List’ of threatened species, there are currently a total of 193 species in critical danger of extinction, 418 endangered, and 498 vulnerable.
The objective of this document is to collaborate in the implementation throughout the national territory of the so-called ‘Conservation Cycle’ that has been defined by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, a series of actions that offer hope for the preservation of species. threatened.
The report also includes several critically endangered biodiversity hotspots within the country because they concentrate a greater number of critically endangered species, according to the IUCN, that require greater attention and protection.
These include the Doñana National Park (Andalusia), the Serranía de Cuenca Natural Park (Castilla la Mancha), the Sierra de Espadán Natural Park (Valencia), the Jandía Natural Park (Fuerteventura, Canary Islands), the Natural Doramas (Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands), Garajonay National Park (La Gomera, Canary Islands), Tibataje and Las Playas (El Hierro, Canary Islands).
