![asu-biodiversity-endangered-species](https://ke.news.prod.rtd.asu.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2016/03/canis-lupis-300x300.jpg)
The agencies involved in implementing the Endangered Species Act have difficult choices to make regarding which species and actions are of the highest priority.
Of the 1,125 currently listed species under the Endangered Species Act, 50% still have declining populations or are high risk for extinction, with 800 additional species that must be considered by 2018. Listing species under the act is assumed to promote recovery, yet for this to be successful, conservation actions must be taken post-listing and adequate funding must be allocated. Currently only approximately 12% of listed species receive the recommended funding.
CBO Director
Leah Gerber proposes that reallocating funds from species with budget surplus to offset funding deficits for underfunded species could support recovery for 180 species. The full publication in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences can be accessed
here.
Read more on the paper in
Science Insider, Climate Progress, The Wildlife Society, 91.5 KJZZ,
Wired and
Global Possibilities.