Politics of National Red List Classifications

Challenging the Reclassification of Araucaria araucana

Bibliographic Data

ID7150810
AuthorsRobert Petitpas (0000-0001-8105-4518, Department of Geography, University College London, London, UK, corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume23
Issue2
Pages63-73
Publication date2025-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueConservation and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0972-4923 • E-ISSN: 0975-3133
PublisherOvid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.4103/cs.cs_70_24
OpenAlexW4409732786
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited25

The IUCN Red List evaluates species’ extinction risk based on quantitative data about population size, distribution, and changes over time. Species are assigned to nine categories representing their conservation status. Using the case of the Pewen tree (Monkey Puzzle tree, Araucaria araucana ) reclassification in Chile from Vulnerable to Endangered, I analyse the reactions and negotiations among scientists, government officials, and Indigenous Pewenche people. Through interviews and a review of documents, I describe the discussions and negotiations before and during the reclassification, showing how different meanings of species endangerment affected the process. This research demonstrates that extinction risk categories are not a condition unveiled by data but are negotiated through estimations, assumptions, opinions, and consensus. Furthermore, actors beyond scientists and evaluators can dispute the meaning of a conservation status. Extinction risk lists are not just tools for measuring wild species’ conditions but are complex processes affected by political and cultural issues. Abstract in Spanish: rb.gy/wqghf1

Araucaria · Biology · Geography · Political science · Politics · African Botany and Ecology Studies · Genetic diversity and population structure · Law · Wildlife Ecology and Conservation · Forestry

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