We're funding 28,000+ species assessments with @IUCN to help protect biodiversity: https://t.co/wGteGwkSku pic.twitter.com/rOO0NUnMbL
— ToyotaGB (@ToyotaGB) May 10, 2016
Ever look up a cool animal on the internet, and the first page you check is, of course, Wikipedia? At the side of the page, you'll notice most animals are listed as "Least Concern," and some as Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, or Extinct. Ever wonder who determines that conservation status?
The answer is the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and Toyota has just agreed to a five-year partnership with them.
What is our favorite automaker doing with our favorite... Wikipedia conservation status... thing? The IUCN does so much more than enhance your Google searches about animals. The organization carefully assesses the population growth or decline, and the current and future threats of extinction facing thousands of plants, animals, and fungi, and publishes the results for scientists around the globe on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
As of 2016, the IUCN Red List featured over 79,800 species. By 2020, the organization hopes to double that number.
Toyota is offering the IUCN funding to conduct assessments on at least 28,000 more species over the next several years, as part of Toyota's own commitment to the environment.
"The Toyota Environmental Challenge 2050 addresses not only climate change, but also biodiversity," said Inger Andersen, IUCN Director General. "They are two sides of the same coin which can’t be dealt with separately. This generous grant from Toyota will enable our Red List researchers to take a big leap towards reaching our goal of assessing 160,000 species by 2020. This would also help IUCN's work in supporting the implementation of the Sustainability Development Goals adopted last year by all the members of the United Nations, particularly the Zero Hunger goal."
Visit Elgin Toyota to learn what you can do to help out, like driving a low-emission, or hybrid vehicle.
