What is the Red Book? What is useful in it?

Man is part of nature, but for some reasonthis often forgets. Most often, the ecology suffers from the vital activity of the people themselves. Many international organizations, the existence of which we do not even suspect, are trying to protect humanity, paradoxically, from itself.

What is IUCN and what does the organization do

These environmental societies includeInternational Union for Conservation of Nature, abbreviated IUCN. It was created with the filing of UNESCO in 1948 and is one of the world's largest non-profit and independent organizations. Among the numerous published publications of the Union is the Red Book. Yes, yes, the one whose existence we learn from school, and eventually we forget. What is the international red book? It is not a law, it does not have any legal status, it is merely of a recommendatory nature for those countries where there is a threat to the animal world. The IUCN program document, which has become official since 1979, is the World Conservation Strategy. IUCN is the oldest organization, it includes 78 states and, among other things, 12,000 scientists and experts from around the world. The international Red Book contains a complete list of all rare and very small representatives of flora and fauna.

Having access to the highest international level, the Unionnature conservation is ready to cooperate with any party, organization or group of volunteers whose tasks include the protection and preservation of the environment. The main goal of the IUCN is to communicate its ideas to all of humanity as efficiently and effectively as possible and, as a result, to improve the system of nature conservation, regardless of policy and social differences.

What is the Red Book

The idea of ​​publishing a book where all would have been collectedEndangered species of animals and plants, has arisen for a long time, therefore, as soon as IUCN was formed, the Commission on rare species of nature began to develop this publication. Commission chairman Peter Scott suggested calling it "Red" and making the cover of the same color - as a sign that nature is in danger of extinction. So that both the color and the very name of the book made people think about the wrong attitude to nature, its barbaric destruction.

What is the Red Book?With a view to preserving the world around us, the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1963 issued the Red Book, where the most rarely encountered species of fauna were collected. The publication turned out to be quite voluminous - in two volumes, but the circulation was very small, and only some statesmen and prominent scientists became the owners of the first copies.

Gradually, changes occurred in nature ...The Red Book was reprinted four times (until 1980). During this time, 14 species of animals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians disappeared irretrievably. If some species and subspecies of animals, birds and reptiles were restored, then the fish and amphibians are not lucky.

Color and Marks

The definition of "what is the Red Book" can be foundin any encyclopedia or dictionary. This book is unusual in that its pages have a different color, which depends on the category of species or subspecies on a particular sheet of species or subspecies of representatives of flora and fauna. For convenience, all species are separated and indicated by the following signs:

1.

Black color:

• EX - already disappeared;
• EW - still preserved, but live in captivity.

2. Red color - endangered:

• CR - critical position;
• EN - under threat of extinction;
• VUs are very vulnerable.

3. Green color - low risk:

• CD - may disappear without providing the necessary security measures;
• NT - already close to the group "under threat";
• LC - the risk is there, but minimal.

What is the Red Book of Russia

The first edition of the Red Book of the USSR dates back to 1978. Later, they began to publish Red Books on the union republics and on individual, the most problematic regions and regions.

The influence of man on nature in the most inhabitedregions of Russia turned out to be such that some species of animals and plants became not that less - they completely disappeared from the face of the earth. For example, there used to be large animals on the territory of Russia — tours. These individuals, similar to bison, had a huge growth, their height at the withers reached two meters. Naturally, they were a desirable prey for hunters. The number of tours declined so sharply that the officials of tsarist Russia sounded the alarm, and decrees were issued on the protection of these animals and the prohibition of their hunting in princely lands. But it did not help, and the tours disappeared.

The same fate befell a relative of the horse.Przewalski - tarpana. They lived in the steppes and forest-steppes of Russia, but the settlers began to plow up these lands, leaving no chance for the Tarpans to survive. If the reserve "Belovezhskaya Pushcha" had not been created, then the same fate would have suffered the bison. The list of extinct animals in Russia continues to grow, unfortunately. And now, on the verge of extinction, there are 22 species of animals, 25 species of birds, one reptile, three species of fish, 16 invertebrates and about a hundred plants.

On the basis of the Federal Law "On Environmental Protection" (1991) and "On the Animal World" (1995), the Red Book of the Russian Federation: Animals was published in 2001.

Now the Red Book of Russia is an official document on endangered species of animals and plants, of which 533 are on the verge of extinction.

What is the Red Book of Plants

The first five editions of the Red Book were devoted toexclusively endangered and rare species of animals, and since 1963 saw the light of the Red Book of Plants. Since that time, the definition of “what is the Red Book” has changed the line, which refers to the list of the rarest representatives of not only the animal, but also the plant world

The number of dying plants increases withso fast that today even those species that have recently been growing everywhere in large areas have been included in the Red Book. It is already possible to rank snow white snowdrop, cornflower Dubyansky, Marshall's crested hen, etc.

What is the Red Book by category? The accepted division in Russia

1. Category 0. This group includes those species of plants and animals that no one has seen. The name of this group is “Probably disappeared”.

2. Category 1. These species have reached such a critical number that they can be calculated individually. These are endangered animals (one of those is the Amur tiger.) And plants.

3. Category 2. Reducing in quantity.They can at any time fall into one of the first two categories if they are not placed in a conservation area for strict oversight of their numbers. A representative of this group is a mandarin duck.

4. The third category - rare species.They live in limited areas and have a small number. More recently, in the Moscow region, the lady's shoe did not surprise anyone, and people gathered bouquets, enjoying its unusual beauty. Now it is a rare species.

5. Category 4 has no status. These are the species that only experts know about; they comprise only 10 plants and 40 representatives of the fauna.

6. Category 5. Views of this group just please the heart. They are called "Recovered or Restored." Thanks to the efforts of a person, the population of some species was saved.

7. Category 6. These are the most numerous of the above listed species. They are under strict control and supervision of a person.

Now we know what the Red Book is.Only by understanding what the consumer attitude towards nature can lead to, can one learn to rejoice when plants and animals leave not our Earth, but the pages of the Red Book.