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TFTSG members by email. 43 assessments will move from draft format onto the SIS website within months, followed by the backlog of drafted assessments subsequently. We worked with CITES parties and others to ensure that CITES proposals for the inclusion of freshwater turtle species in, and transfer of tortoises and turtles between the Appendices, were based on the best available biological and conservation status information. We updated the annual Checklist of Turtles of the World, freely downloadable here. We were able to support TFTSG members and others to carry out conservation and research activities through a variety of means, including through the Turtle Conservation Fund, through supporting applications for turtle projects to other potential donors, and through assistance and support for member’s initiatives. The TFTSG listserv experienced technical complications during the past year, but these now appear to have been resolved, and the listserv continues its vital role of enabling TFTSG members to inform others of their progress and to pose questions to help solve conservation and research challenges. The activities of the TFTSG over the past year were made possible through support from Conservation International and the Wildlife Conservation Society, the Frankel Family Foundation, George Meyer and Maria Semple, the Mohamed bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund, the Panaphil Foundation, the Andrew Sabin Family Foundation, Walter Sedgwick, SOS – Save Our Species, the Turtle Conservancy, the Turtle Conservation Fund, the US FWS Wildlife Without Borders program and members contributing their time and expertise. Moreover, gatherings of turtle conservationists, including TFTSG leadership and members are greatly facilitated by the Turtle Survival Alliance and the Turtle Conservancy, for which we are most grateful. Dr Peter Paul van Dijk and Brian D. Horne Co-chairs, Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group The Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group was formed in 2009 with the initial goal of evaluating the conservation status of the 61 species of mackerels, tunas, and billfishes. This goal was successfully achieved through a series of workshops in Peru, Taiwan, Brazil, and the United States. After completing our analyses and publishing the results in Science in 2011 (vol. 333:291-292), edited versions of all 61 species accounts were added to The IUCN Red List. This was the first evaluation of an important commercial group of marine fishes under IUCN Red List criteria. So far, we have 22 members from 13 countries but we also receive valuable information from many other experts, who are not formally associated with the group. Initial efforts for the current quadrennium were to invite specialists to join the group; Dr Beth Polidoro was selected as the Red List Authority Coordinator for the group. In reviewing the results of our previous analyses, it became clear from a new stock assessment, that our evaluation of the Pacific Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus orientalis) as Least Concern was too optimistic. We are reviewing all available data to reclassify the conservation status of this overfished species. Our next task will be to determine whether enough new information is available to properly evaluate the 11 species that we were forced to classify as Data Deficient. We will also continue to evaluate the status of stocks rated in Threatened and Near Threatened categories. Bruce B. Collette, Ph.D. Chair, IUCN SSC Tuna and Billfish Specialist Group Viper Specialist Group The mission of the IUCN Viper Specialist Group (VSG) is to build and coordinate a network of viper experts across the globe, and to use the collective expertise of this group to conserve the world’s vipers. In 2013, the current VSG board delineated seven regions across the world where vipers occur and designated individuals to act as regional coordinators for these areas. These are catalyst positions. Regional Coordinators fill the role of building a network of experts within their region and promoting VSG membership. In addition, the board also identified a Red List Authority Coordinator, who is currently in the process of expanding the membership of the Red List Authority. We have secured funding to continue our work conserving Black-headed Bushmasters (Lachesis melanocephala). Specifically, the funding will be used to develop an appropriate survey protocol, an extremely important component in any conservation effort to assess population status and conduct ecological studies to understand the threats to these species. In addition, we are collecting information for and writing a Conservation Action Plan for Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnakes within the United States. We are now conducting standardized surveys for this species and working on collecting observations from scientists and the general public in an attempt to get a better idea of overall distribution in Florida and Georgia, USA, as well as areas with a high density Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis). © Monterey Bay Aquarium/Randy Wilder Bushmaster - Peru. © Marisa Ishimatsu 90 IUCN species Annual Report 2013
of observations within these states. The VSG would like to thank the Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conservation Fund for their generous donation towards the conservation of the Black-headed Bushmaster. If you are interested in participating in the VSG, please contact the Regional Coordinator in your area. Contact information can be found here. Christopher L. Jenkins Chair, Viper Specialist Group Vulture Specialist Group The Vulture Specialist Group (VSG) was formally established in April 2011 and aims to advocate and create awareness of the plight of these birds and to help coordinate conservation activities to their benefit. The VSG currently has around 80 members, spread over five continents and includes expertise on both Old and New World vulture species. In addition to the two Co-Chairs, regional representatives from Europe and Africa have been appointed to serve on the Steering Committee of the VSG. The journal Vulture News is the official mouthpiece of the VSG and is currently edited by Campbell Murn. In Africa, the mass-poisoning of vultures in southern Africa during 2013 was a great cause for concern with more than 1,500 birds known to have been killed in the second half of the year alone. Of even greater concern is the clear link that exists between these poisonings and the poaching of elephants. The African Region of the VSG is planning a Summit, which will take place in Namibia in May 2014; involving key-players from the region. The objective is to implement plans to more effectively manage and contain such incidents and to improve the high level enforcement of legislation across the region. In Asia, the results of large scale road-transect and other surveys were published; showing clear signs that declines in vulture populations have slowed and may even have stopped in some areas, and that this is clearly linked to the reduction in diclofenac levels in cattle carcasses. However, even though there’s a clear reduction in the use of diclofenac, it remains a serious threat due to the illegal veterinary use of human formulations of the drug; and worryingly, there are other legal veterinary drugs being used that are similarly toxic to vultures. The Saving Asia’s Vultures from Extinction (SAVE) consortium has grown in stature, and continues to advocate for the cessation of large ‘multi-dose’ vials of human formulations, which are the main and cheap source of the drug used by vets. Both SAVE and the newly established Government-led Regional Steering Committee (RSC) which is chaired by IUCN, met this year and they are working towards the implementation of a ban on the use of multi-dose human diclofenac vials, as well as establishing a vulture safety-testing mechanism for other veterinary drugs entering the market. Both of these issues require concerted efforts to ensure they happen quickly, and further work will be needed to make sure that unsafe drugs are not licensed for veterinary use. Also in 2013, National Vulture Recovery Committees were established for each of the four South Asian countries covered by the RSC, and at least two of these have already met. The VSG also supports the International Vulture Awareness Day which was established in 2009 and has become an annual event observed in 57 countries and by 163 organisations globally in 2013. The event aims to promote awareness and to educate the public about the plight and environmental value of vultures and the pressing need to conserve them. Andre Botha and Chris Bowden Co-chairs, Vulture Specialist Group WCPA/SSC Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas The WCPA/SSC Joint Task Force on Biodiversity and Protected Areas has two main objectives. Objective 1 is focused on understanding the factors that make protected areas successful in conserving biodiversity. For 2013, the Task Force has completed the following: • The global analysis of the best predictors of success for protected areas (PA) is complete. We collated 1902 population abundance time series from 447 protected areas and calculated population changes as a metric of PA effectiveness. We used linear mixed effect models to explore correlates of population change in PAs, comparing a wide range of management, ecological, social and economic predictor variables. The paper is drafted and will be submitted to a major journal. • Task Force member Megan Barnes completed her PhD at the University of Queensland, working directly on the above project. • A Task Force authored, peer-reviewed paper was published in Biological Conservation titled “Effectiveness of terrestrial protected areas in reducing habitat loss and population declines”. • Task Force Member Jonas Geldmann submitted his PhD at the University of Copenhagen. He has worked on correlating The poisoning of Vultures in South Africa has devastated populations of Cape Griffon Vulture and African White-backed Vulture, as this photograph shows from an incident in July 2013. © The Endangered Wildlife Trust KBA Governance workshop, Nov 2013, Brasilia, Brazil. Specialist Groups, Task Forces and Red List Authorities 91
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Species ISSUE 55 2013 Annual Report
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2013 Snapshots The Species Survival
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Report of the Species Survival Comm
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Canada. IUCN provided a strong supp
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Report of the Global Species Progra
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Setting global standards for the id
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5. make a commitment; and 6. share
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In 2014, we hope to complete a Cons
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