The Ministry of Environment yesterday (31) announced it has completed preparing the latest edition of the Red Data Book on endangered trees and endangered species in Sri Lanka. Each edition of the Red Data Book is expected to be compiled every five years, but the last edition was published by Sri Lanka in 2012, meaning this update has been long overdue. The Ministry issued a press release, stating that Environment Minister Mahinda Amaraweera, upon assuming duties, had advised Ministry officials to compile the Red Data Book as soon as possible. The Ministry’s Biodiversity Unit had complied, resulting in the preparation of this latest edition. The average Red Data Book comprises nine classifications for animal species at risk: Extinct (EX); Extinct – Extinct in the Wild (EW); Extinct endangered – Critically Endangered (CR); Extinct at high risk – Endangered (EN); Endangered species – Vulnerable Species (VU); Endangered – Near Threatened (NT); Least Concern (LC); Data Deficient (DD); and Unclassified. The new edition of the Red Data Book is scheduled to be launched on Friday (3 September) at the Ministry of Environment under the patronage of Minister of Environment Mahinda Amaraweera and the participation of Environment Ministry Secretary Dr. Anil Jasinghe.