Ecoregion Conservation Status

Conservation status of the Global 200 ecoregions is used to classify ecoregions into one of three broad categories: "critical/endangered", "vulnerable", or "relatively stable/relatively intact".

The conservation status of terrestrial ecoregions is noted : CE for critical or endangered, V for vulnerable, and RS for relatively stable or intact.

Ecoregions vary in their biological particularities, as well as in their conservation status. This latter represents an estimation of the current and future ability of the ecoregion to sustain ecological viability and to react to environmental changes.

Conservation status was based on landscape (or equivalent for freshwater and marine ecoregions), such as total habitat loss, habitat fragmentation, degree of degradation, degree of protection needed, degree of urgency for conservation needs, and types of conservation practiced or required.

The Global 200 ecoregions list can mostly help conservation at regional scale (local deforestation, destruction of swamps habitats, degradation of soils...). However, certain phenomena (such as bird or cetaceans migration) obviously depend on more complicated parameters not used in defining the current database (such as atmospheric currents, dynamic pelagic ecosystem...). These would require further gathering of information, and require coordination of efforts between several ecoregions. However, Global 200 ecoregions can help these efforts by identifying habitat sites and resting sites for migratory animals. It may also help identify the origin of invasive species, and offer leverage for slowing down or stopping the intrusion and settling of the latter.