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W-01

Protect endangered and critical species

No species pushed to extinction by people, and threatened species recovering.

4 organizations tracked  ·  0 vetted

The goal in brief

GoalNo species pushed to extinction by people, and threatened species recovering.

species on the Red List facing extinction1
49,505
plant and animal species facing extinction2
≈1 million
of amphibian species threatened2
40%+

Why it matters

Of the 175,909 species assessed for the IUCN Red List, 49,505 are threatened with extinction,1 and scientists estimate around 1 million plant and animal species face that risk, many within decades.2 Every loss weakens the ecosystems that grow our food, clean our water and supply our medicines, and extinction can’t be undone.

How we’ll know it’s done

Finish line
No more extinctions caused by people, and threatened species recovering, as the UN biodiversity framework commits to by 2030.3
What counts
A species moving to a lower-risk category on the IUCN Red List because its numbers recovered.
How it’s checked
Regular IUCN Red List reassessments and its index of extinction risk over time.
Our part
We’ll fund this once our vetting team vets an organization working on it.

What follows

  • Pollinators that keep crops producing.W-03Protect global pollinators
  • Fish and marine life rebounding in healthier seas.O-03Replenish depleted fish populations
  • Intact forests, wetlands and grasslands that hold carbon and clean water.E-02Protect and regenerate key ecosystems
  • Seed-spreading animals that help forests regrow.E-01Plant 1 trillion trees

How it can be solved

The approaches to this goal, and how many of the organizations taking each one we’ve vetted.

  • Habitat protection

    Protecting and restoring the places endangered species need.

    2 organizations

  • Rescue and research

    Rescuing, treating and studying endangered animals.

    2 organizations

Who’s working on it

We only call a solution proven, measurable and scalable once our vetting team has vetted it. Everything else here, the team is tracking.

Vetted0 organizationsReviewed by our vetting team, and passed all three tests.

  • Proven

    It has worked, with results to show.

  • Measurable

    Its impact can be counted.

  • Scalable

    It can grow toward the size of the goal.

None on this goal yet. When our vetting team vets an organization working on it, it appears here with its vetting report.

Not vetted4 organizationsTracked by our vetting team. Not vetted yet, so we make no claims about them.

Listing an organization isn’t an endorsement. Not vetted means just that: our vetting team is tracking it, and we make no claims about it yet. Last reviewed October 2026.

Know a solution we’re missing?

Submit a solution that tackles a goal on Humanity’s Checklist.

  1. Tell us about it in a short form.
  2. Our Solutionary Team reviews every submission.
  3. If it looks like a fit, we’ll start vetting the project.
Submit a project (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. 1. IUCN, “From desert frog to deep-sea molluscs, remarkable species at risk – IUCN Red List,” press release (July 2026) (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2. IPBES, “Nature’s Dangerous Decline ‘Unprecedented’; Species Extinction Rates ‘Accelerating’,” media release on the Global Assessment Report (2019) (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3. Convention on Biological Diversity, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Target 4 (2022) (opens in a new tab)