The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is widely recognised as a key global indicator of biodiversity health. More than just a list of endangered species, it serves as a powerful tool to guide conservation action, influence policy, and support decisions that protect our planet’s natural resources. It offers essential information on species’ population trends, habitat, threats, and conservation measures – used by governments, NGOs, researchers, educators, and the private sector worldwide.
In Viet Nam, the Red Data Book and Red List have played a similarly vital role in guiding national biodiversity strategies and supporting international commitments under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These resources provide a scientific basis for laws and policies on the protection and sustainable use of endangered and rare wildlife.
Viet Nam’s Red Data Book was first published in 1992, featuring 365 threatened animal species. The plant volume followed in 1996, listing 356 threatened species. In 2000, the book was republished for the second time, integrating the IUCN (1994) assessment criteria and classification standards. In this edition, the number of animal species classified as Endangered (EN) doubled compared to 1992, rising to 149 species.
By 2007, the Red Data Book was updated and republished for the third time in two volumes: the animal volume documented 407 species, and the plant volume listed 448 species. Additionally, the 2007 edition included the publication of the Viet Nam Red List, cataloguing species at risk of extinction.
However, for 17 years, the Viet Nam Red Data Book and Red List remained unchanged, even as habitat loss, climate change, and illegal wildlife trade continued to affect Viet Nam’s biodiversity. The urgent need for updated, accurate, and accessible data prompted the Viet Nam Academy of Science and Technology (VAST), in partnership with national and international experts, to initiate a full-scale review. The result is a comprehensive reassessment of 1,398 threatened species using IUCN criteria at national level. This includes detailed updates on taxonomy, distribution, population status, threats, and conservation needs for each species.
A major achievement of this effort is the creation of an online Viet Nam Red List platform, modeled after the IUCN Red List. This digital system, which was made available in late 2024, allows users to access detailed species data organised by scientific classification, making information more accessible and useful for conservation planning. In addition, the Viet Nam Red Data Book has been revised and published in two volumes in December 2024: Volume 1 (Animals) with 742 species and Volume 2 (Plants and Fungi): with 656 species. Each entry includes comprehensive data such as scientific names, identification features, distribution, population status, biological characteristics, threats, and recommended conservation actions.
Compared to the 2007 edition of the Viet Nam Red Data Book, the number of threatened species in the 2024 version has increased significantly – from 836 to 1,398 species. The number of animal species increased by 354, plant species by 196, and fungi by six. New groups such as mosses, arachnids, and dragonflies were also newly assessed in this edition. The study also recorded five animal species that have become extinct (EX – Extinct) or extinct in the wild (EW – Extinct in the Wild) in Viet Nam: the Sika Deer (Cervus nippon), the Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), Edward’s Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), the Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), and the Southern River Terrapin (Batagur affinis).
This updated Red List is not only crucial for national biodiversity monitoring but also serves as the foundation for calculating the Red List Index, a key indicator used to measure Viet Nam’s progress under the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Additionally, it has been proposed by the former Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) as criteria to determine endangered, rare and precious species under the proposed updated Government Decree No. 06/2019/ND-CP on the management of endangered, precious and rare forest plants and animals and implementation of the CITES Convention.
Viet Nam’s renewed commitment to updating and digitalising its Red List marks a major step forward in ensuring the protection of its rich biodiversity for generations to come. Explore the Vietnam Red List online at: http://vnredlist.vast.vn/
