The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ provides taxonomic, conservation status and distribution information on plants, fungi and animals that have been globally evaluated using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. This system is designed to determine the relative risk of extinction, and the main purpose of the IUCN Red List is to catalogue and highlight those plants, fungi and animals that are facing a higher risk of global extinction (i.e. those listed as Critically Endangered, Endangered and Vulnerable).

The IUCN Red List also includes information on plants, fungi and animals that are categorized as Extinct or Extinct in the Wild; on taxa that cannot be evaluated because of insufficient information (Data Deficient); and on plants, fungi and animals that are either close to meeting the threatened thresholds or that would be threatened were it not for an ongoing taxon-specific conservation programme.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ is widely recognized as the most comprehensive, objective global approach for evaluating the conservation status of plant and animal species. The goal of The IUCN Red List is to provide information and analyses on the status, trends and threats to species in order to inform and catalyse action for biodiversity conservation.

This goal includes the "traditional" role of The IUCN Red List in identifying particular species at risk of extinction. While the role of The IUCN Red List in underpinning priority-setting processes for single species remains of critical importance, the goal has been expanded to encompass the use of data from the Red List for multi-species analyses in order to identify and monitor trends in species status and to catalyse appropriate conservation action.

To achieve this goal, The IUCN Red List aims to:

• Establish a baseline from which to monitor the change in status of species;
• Provide a global context for the establishment of conservation priorities at the local level;
• Monitor, on a continuing basis, the status of a representative selection of species (as biodiversity indicators) that cover all the major ecosystems of the world.