Conservation Designations for UK Taxa

This collection of files details the conservation designations of over 15,000 UK "taxa" that have been assigned some form of rarity, threat or legal status in Great Britain or the UK. It is a collation of many different "designation" lists including country-specific lists, and lists produced by national and International conventions or directives. 

The collection of files contains an Excel workbook, a guidance document detailing how to use the spreadsheet, and a document detailing the constituents lists included in the spreadsheet. These resources are available to download either separately or as a zipped file.

The following designation types are included in the spreadsheet:

* Bern Convention (Appendices 1, 2 and 3);
* Bonn Convention – Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species (Appendices 1 and 2, AEWA, ASCOBANS,  EUROBATS);
* Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP) UK priority species list;
* Birds Directive (Annexes 1, 2.1 and 2.2);
* Birds of Conservation Concern (Red/Amber list and not based on IUCN criteria);
* Convention on Migratory Species;
* EC CITES (Annexes A, B, C and D);
* Global Red list status (this includes red listings based on pre-1994, 1994 and 2001 IUCN guidelines);
* Habitats Directive (Annexes 2, 4 and 5);
* Nationally Rare/Scarce (not based on IUCN criteria);
* Nationally Scarce and Nationally Rare Species (also with an IUCN status);
* National Red Lists (this includes red listings based on pre-1994, 1994 and 2001 IUCN guidelines);
* OSPAR;
* Protection of Badgers Act 1992;
* Species of principal importance in England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland (NERC section 41 and 42 lists, Scottish Biodiversity List and Northern Ireland Priority Species List);
* The Conservation (Nature Habitats) Regulations (NI) 1995 (Schedule 2, 3 and 4);
* The Conservation of Habitats and Species Regulations 2010 (Schedule 2, 4 and 5);
* The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (Schedule 1, 5 and 8);
* Wildlife (NI) Order 1985 (Schedule 1 part 1, Schedule 1 part 2, Schedule 5, Schedule 8 part 1, Schedule 8 part 2).

Please note, this is not a fully comprehensive collation of designations for UK species; for example, local red list assessments are not included, and for some reporting categories only selected annexes/appendices/schedules are included. Note that the generic term "taxa" is in this context a more strictly accurate term than "species" because some of the listed entities are ranked as being either above or below the "species" level.

We are aware that there is some information in the Conservation Designations for UK Taxa Spreadsheet that is now out of date, and we are working to rectify this. GB red listing information is up to date as of June 2026 following a [bulk update](https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/red-lists-in-great-britain/). Red List data is also available via the [GB Red List Dashboard](https://jncc.gov.uk/our-work/gb-red-list-dashboard/) and the [GB Red List Dataset](https://jncc.gov.uk/resources/b0714797-4481-43a9-8275-8bfa0e1d1aba).

To provide feedback on the Conservation Designations for UK Taxa spreadsheet, please [get in touch](mailto:data@jncc.gov.uk).

These resources may not be fully accessible for all users. If you need a copy in a different or more accessible format, please contact [communications@jncc.gov.uk](mailto:communications@jncc.gov.uk).

Tags: CITES, Freshwater, Marine, Species Status, Terrestrial, UK BAP, UK Biodiversity
Organization: Joint Nature Conservation Committee