The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is the world’s most comprehensive information source on the extinction risk of species, and as such is a critical indicator of the health of the world’s biodiversity. In addition to the global Red List, many countries develop their own national Red Lists, in order to identify priority species and habitats, inform environmental impact assessments, and help guide allocation of resources for biodiversity conservation. For example, in Australia the Red List categories and criteria form the basis of the Common Assessment Method (CAM) that is used for species nominations under the 1999 Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act), and similar state-level legislation.
