The 25 most endangered primates list: impacts on conservation fundraising and policy

Abstract

Lists of threatened species are often employed as media outreach tools, but their usefulness and efficacy are rarely tested. One prominent example is the “Primates in Peril: The World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates” list – the “Top 25 List.” It is published every two years by the Primate Specialist Group (PSG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC), in collaboration with the International Primatological Society (IPS). Eighty-eight primates have appeared in the list’s 10 editions since it began in 2000 (Mittermeier, Konstant, & Rylands, 2000; Mittermeier et al., 2009, 2012; Schwitzer et al., 2014) (see Figure 7.1). The Top 25 List’s purpose is to draw worldwide attention to highly endangered primates. It targets not merely a supportive public, but governments, donors and funders, researchers, and conservation NGOs.