@book{fdi:010084067,
  title = {{T}he conservation status of marine biodiversity of the western {I}ndian {O}cean},
  author = {{B}ullock, {R}. and {R}alph, {G}. and {S}tump, {E}. and {A}l {A}bdali, {F}. and {A}l {A}sfoor, {J}. and {A}l {B}uwaiqi, {B}. and {A}l {K}indi, {A}. and {A}mbuali, {A}. and {B}irge, {T}. and {B}orsa, {P}hilippe and et al.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{T}he {W}estern {I}ndian {O}cean ({WIO}) is comprised of productive and highly diverse marine ecosystems that are rich sources of food security, livelihoods, and natural wonder. {T}he ecological services that species provide are vital to the productivity of these ecosystems and healthy biodiversity is essential for the continued support of economies and local users. {T}he stability of these valuable resources, however, is being eroded by growing threats to marine life from overexploitation, habitat degradation and climate change, all of which are causing serious reductions in marine ecosystem services and the ability of these ecosystems to support human communities. {Q}uantifying the impacts of these threats and understanding the conservation status of the region's marine biodiversity is a critical step in applying informed management and conservation  measures to mitigate loss and retain the ecological value of these systems. {T}he {I}nternational {U}nion for {C}onservation of {N}ature ({IUCN}) {R}ed {L}ist {C}ategories and {C}riteria are the most widely used and objective system of quantifying the conservation status of species. {F}or this report, {R}ed {L}ist assessments for marine fish species were produced and compiled with existing assessments for other marine species groups to generate a comprehensive assessment of the conservation status of the marine biodiversity of the {WIO}. {T}he species assessed for this report were done so through clade-based and regionally focused {R}ed {L}ist assessment workshops involving hundreds of taxonomic experts from around the world. {T}o supplement assessments for marine fishes of the region, three workshops were held in {T}anzania, {O}man and {S}outh {A}frica over the course of three years from 2017 to 2019. {T}hirty-one marine fish experts from 14 countries participated in the three workshops. {A}mong the more than 4,000 species assessments compiled for this report, 473 species were identified as threatened or {N}ear {T}hreatened with extinction at the global level, according to the {IUCN} {R}ed {L}ist {C}ategories and {C}riteria. {I}ncorporating uncertainty in the true status of {D}ata {D}eficient species, between 7-24% of all species were estimated as being currently at risk of extinction, with a best estimate of 8% of all assessed species being threatened. {S}patial analyses of species richness across the region identified hotspots of threatened species including the southern {R}ed {S}ea and the southern coast of {I}ndia. {M}ajor threats were analysed amongst threatened and {N}ear {T}hreatened species, of which more than 90% were found to be impacted by biological resource use, largely in the form of targeted fisheries and bycatch as well as illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities. {O}verexploitation was flagged as a driver of population decline for all threatened and {N}ear{T}hreatened cartilaginous fishes, mammals and sea turtles. {T}he 237 threatened and {N}ear {T}hreatened reef-building corals are impacted by the same suite of fishing threats, including fisheries-related habitat degradation. {I}n general, habitat degradation and destruction through pollution, coastal development and other habitat modifications emerged as a major threat across assessed species groups. {F}rom these analyses, this report highlights trends in research needs for species in the region, including priorities for fundamental biological and ecological research and quantifying trends in the populations of species. {O}verall, with a best estimate of 8% threatened species, the conservation status of the {W}estern {I}ndian {O}cean region is moderately high, relative to the status of the same taxonomic suite of species assessed in other regions. {T}his comparatively high level of threatened biodiversity highlights the importance of timely and targeted conservation actions for the biodiversity of the region moving forward. {T}he region has the highest levels of uncertainty in species status with 16.9% of the {WIO} species listed as {D}ata {D}eficient, as compared to 11.0-15.8% in other tropical regions. {T}he analyses presented here also highlight particularly threatened and susceptible taxonomic groups, geographical hotpots of conservation priority as well as trends in major anthropogenic threats. {T}he assessments and analyses submitted in this report should inform conservation decision-making processes and will be valuable to policymakers, natural resource managers, environmental planners and {NGO}s.},
  keywords = {{OCEAN} {INDIEN} ; {MER} {ROUGE} ; {TANZANIE} ; {OMAN} ; {AFRIQUE} {DU} {SUD} ; {ZANZIBAR}},
  address = {{G}land},
  publisher = {{IUCN}},
  series = {{IUCN} {R}ed {L}ist of {T}hreatened {S}pecies - {R}egional {A}ssessment},
  pages = {33},
  year = {2021},
  ISBN = {978-2-8317-2098-2},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010084067},
}