IUCN Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Red List Authority (TFTRLA)

The Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Red List Authority’s (TFTRLA) mission is to identify and document threats to the survival of all species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, and to help catalyse conservation action to ensure that none become extinct and that sustainable populations of all species persist in the wild.

At A Glance

The Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Red List Authority’s (TFTRLA) mission is to identify and document threats to the survival of all species of tortoises and freshwater turtles, and to help catalyse conservation action to ensure that none become extinct and that sustainable populations of all species persist in the wild.

TFTSG is the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival Commission (SSC) group charged with the assessment of these species on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is part of the IUCN SSC Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group (FTSG).

The TFTRLA is run from Charles Darwin University in Darwin, Australia. Synchronicity Earth’s support for the TFTRLA is for its work in assessing tortoise and freshwater turtle species in Southeast Asia. Initial results from the TFTRLA’s workshop in March 2018 indicate that of the 90 species in this region, a shocking 75 per cent of them are globally threatened – 40 per cent are Critically Endangered and 26 per cent are Endangered.

The TFTRLA will complete the review of all 90 species in 2019 and submit them to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The TFTSG will then use these results to plan conservation action for the most threatened species. The TFTRLA is also completing IUCN Red List assessments for other regions of the world.