Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey

The world is facing a biodiversity crisis, with about one in every five
species threatened with extinction. At the same time, we now have a
better understanding of how the natural world forms a support system
for humanity. International efforts such as the Millennium Ecosystem
Assessment are documenting the vital importance of the services provided
by the natural systems for human well-being. A drastic decline in
biodiversity would destroy these critical ecosystem services.
Preventing a steep decline in biodiversity requires identifying species
that are at the highest risk of extinction, and understanding the threats
they are facing. The most comprehensive source of information on the
global conservation status of species is the IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species. The main attributes of the IUCN Red List are its global coverage
(of about 56,000 species), the vast network of scientists contributing to
its expansion, and the quantitative and transparent rules that are used to
determine the red list status of species.
Although assessing the status of species is ecologically most relevant
at the global scale, national red lists are very important for three reasons.
First, the assessment of national endemics directly contributes to the
global red list, as will be the case in this red list of Turkish butterflies.
Second, data for global red-listing often comes from regional and
national assessments, because in many cases these are the scales at which
monitoring and research are carried out. Third, effective biodiversity
conservation generally occurs nationally and locally. Even global
conservation agreements such as the Convention on Biological Diversity
rely primarily on conservation actions implemented nationally.
Historically, both global and national red lists have focused on
charismatic animal groups such as birds and mammals, and more
generally vertebrates. Recently, however, conservation groups have been
paying more attention to other species groups. Invertebrates, which as a
group represent about three quarters of biological diversity at the species
level, are especially important as indicators of the state of biodiversity.
So, when I learned of plans for a Turkish national red list of
butterflies, I was happy to be involved in its development. The resulting
product is not only an important document for all the reasons discussed
above, but also exceptionally well done. The project team worked
diligently to collate, verify, and organize all the available data on Turkish
butterflies. They applied the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria
and the associated guidelines to produce a science-based, objective, and
transparent assessment of the conservation status of the butterflies of
Turkey. This red list will not only be relied upon for developing sound
conservation policy, but also increase public awareness about the status
of biodiversity.
But the work is only beginning. First, there is the work of periodically
updating this list, which requires contributions from everyone with
relevant information on the occurrence, trends, and abundance of
butterflies, and threats to their populations. Second, there is the work of
putting this information to good use. One important use is developing
conservation and recovery plans for threatened species. Other uses
include developing research priorities based on the information gaps
identified in this study, and analyzing the results to find patterns and
trends such as the prevalence of different types of threats in different
taxonomic groups and geographical regions.
Third, there is the work of developing red lists for other species
groups, especially those that are not yet comprehensively assessed at the
global scale. I believe this study of butterflies of Turkey will be a model
for future national red lists of Turkey’s fauna and flora.
Foreword
H. Reşit Akçakaya, Ph.D.
Professor, Stony Brook University, Department of
Ecology and Evolution, New York, USA
Chair, Standards and Petitions Sub-Committee of
the IUCN SSC Red List Committee
Karaçetin, E. and Welch, H.J. (2011). Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey. Ankara, Turkey: Doğa Koruma Merkezi. Available from: [www.dkm.org.tr]
Red Book of Butterflies in Turkey
Reşit Akçakaya (left), Can Bilgin and Ayşe Turak at the
Red List Workshop, 2009.
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