IUCN: One quarter of freshwater animals at risk of extinction

The IUCN co-authored study, which was published in “Nature”, the world's leading multidisciplinary science journal, in January 2025, recommends targeted action to prevent further extinctions and calls for governments and industry to use this data in water management and policy measures. This global freshwater fauna assessment is the result of over 20 years of work by more than 1,000 experts from around the world.

Freshwater landscapes are home to 10 per cent of all known species on Earth, according to IUCN, and are key for billions of people’s safe drinking water, livelihoods, flood control and climate change mitigation.

The IUCN World Conservation Congress, in October 2025, will guide global conservation activities for the next four years as the world works to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework targets by 2030.

For more information on the study’s findings, visit here.