Red Lists of European wetland species

The occurrence of rare and threatened species provides important incentives for the protection of mires and peatlands. Most countries list these species in Red Data Books.

To make this information more easily accessible and to provide a framework for international comparison, we have compiled electronic databases (in MS-Excel 97 format) of all (available) national red data lists for all countries of Europe and of similar listings in international conventions and agreements. Where possible, we included information on the distribution (occurrence per country) of the species. The data thus not only inform on the status of a species in one country, but also in a wider context. In this way, the distributional pattern, the threat situation in other countries, in Europe as a whole, and on a world-wide scale can be taken into account when assessing the conservational value of mires and peatlands.

The databases for plant species are based on the mire plant species list of Philippe Julve (http:// perso.wanadoo.fr/philippe.julve/imcgproj.htm) and are enlarged with other wetland plant species, that may occur in mires and peatlands.

With respect to animals (vertebrates), it is much more difficult to select explicit mire or wetland species. Therefore all (breeding) birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles of Europe have been listed. The user has to decide whether in his country mires/peatlands are important for the conservation of these animals. For birds the frequency of occurrence (limit > 10 % of the population) has been presented. The list was prepared in 2001 and needs an update; IMCG needs volunteers taking this challenge.

The list can be downloaded under