Assessing extinction risk across borders: Integration of a biogeographical approach into regional IUCN assessment?

In ecological studies it is widely accepted that the biogeographical subdivision of continents and regions simplifies and integrates the complexity of natural ecosystems and species range by separating variation or distinctions into biogeographical subdivisions that could be used as appropriate units for the conservation of biodiversity. In this paper we support the opinion that the biogeographical approach could be a unifying method for the analysis of the extinction risk of threatened species according to the IUCN Categories and Criteria at the regional level. We examined recent papers regarding the conservation assessment of species and discussed the advantages of incorporating convergence of conservation action plans between bordering countries, and financial issues, into the IUCN protocol. (C) 2010 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.