Q.What is Red Data Book?

The Red Data Book is an official document that lists species which are threatened, endangered, or vulnerable to extinction. It is maintained by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and, at the national level, by organisations like the Botanical Survey of India and the Zoological Survey of India.

The book uses colour-coded pages to indicate the level of risk:

• Red pages list species that are endangered.
• Green pages show species that were once endangered but have recovered.
• White pages contain rare species.
• Yellow pages highlight species whose populations are declining. …

The Red Data Book is not a single global book but a concept adopted by many countries, including India. It is essentially a catalogue or a register of species that are at risk of extinction. The idea originated from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which publishes a global Red List. However, each country can maintain its own Red Data Book to focus on its specific flora and fauna.

The purpose of the Red Data Book is to provide a centralised database for conservation planning. It records not just the names of threatened species but also detailed information about their population status, habitat, distribution, and the specific factors that are causing their decline. This could include habitat loss, poaching, pollution, or climate change.

For example, the Red Data Book of India lists species like the Bengal Tiger, the Great Indian Bustard, and the Red Panda. Each entry typically includes a category of threat — such as Critically Endangered, Endangered, or Vulnerable — based on IUCN criteria. This helps policymakers, researchers, and forest departments prioritise which species need immediate conservation action.

Break the definition into who maintains it, what it records, and why it exists: a conservation body compiling a scientific inventory of spec …