The infinite Red Lists: can biodiversity ever be measured?

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Abstract

To be considered for the one day virtual ASEH conference

This paper explores the development of ‘red-listing’ endangered plant and animal species over the twentieth century and considers speculative nature of species protection. It narrates the history of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, from its first list of 13 birds and 14 mammals cited in 1950 to the current Red List Index encompassing 150,000 assessed species of plants and animals used for tracking the success of one of the UN sustainability goals. The paper draws out the tensions and uncertainties that are created when quantifying species, reveals the key debates in species categorisation, and encourages historians to consider how this conception of environmental protection is shaped by limitations in knowledge, human biases, and decisions of scale.

Author

• Isobel Akerman, University of Cambridge