Georgina Mace risked becoming extinct from the ranks of up-and-coming conservationists after leading a radical reinterpretation of the “red list” of the world’s most endangered species.
The quietly spoken scientist at the Zoological Society of London had caused outrage by suggesting that too much emphasis was being placed on “charismatic favourites”, such as pandas, polar bears and white rhinos.
Claiming that the existing inventory was based on the subjective opinions of a few conservation experts, Mace transformed the list by using a quantitative comparison of extinction risk. To do so, she set up the Indicators and Assessment Unit at the ZSL, which compares population sizes and rates of decline, and assesses each species using criteria such as disappearing habitat, pollution and disease. Species at the