Scientists have typically focused on monitoring how close endangered species are to extinction, regularly updating the severity of the risk on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list, which includes iconic wildlife such as the mountain gorilla and rare flowering plants such as the Bayard’s adder’s-mouth orchid.

Now, a new global standard known as the IUCN green status of species will help provide a richer picture of a species’ conservation status by detailing how close it is to recovering its original population size and health.