The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Monitors

The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) monitors changes in global biodiversity. It is a network that is composed of both government and nongovernment organizations. The IUCN collects data on the status of the natural world and uses these data to make conservation and sustainable development recommendations. One widely recognized metric for evaluating organismal conservation is the IUCN Red List. This list uses several criteria to calculate the survival probability of organisms throughout the world. The aggregate Red List survival probability for birds, mammals, amphibians, corals, and cycads in different geographic regions is summarized in the table.
Table 1. Aggregate survival probabilities for birds, mammals, amphibians, corals, and cycads according to the IUCN Red List.
$\begin{array} { | l | l | l | } \hline \text { Region } & 1993 & 2016 \\\hline \text { Southern Asia } & 0.77 & 0.68 \\\hline \text { Southeastern Asia } & 0.83 & 0.72 \\\hline \text { Latin America and the Caribbean } & 0.79 & 0.74 \\\hline \text { Eastern Asia } & 0.83 & 0.75 \\\hline \text { Sub-Saharan Africa } & 0.82 & 0.75 \\\hline \text { Oceania } & 0.88 & 0.80 \\\hline \text { Western Asia } & 0.88 & 0.82 \\\hline \text { Northern Africa } & 0.92 & 0.86 \\\hline \text { Caucasus and Central Asia } & 0.92 & 0.91 \\\hline \text { Developed regions } & 0.88 & 0.82 \\\hline \text { Developing regions } & 0.81 & 0.73 \\\hline \text { World } & 0.82 & 0.74 \\\hline\end{array}$ Source: United Nations Statistics Division Statistical Services Branch. (n.d.) . Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. Retrieved November 11, 2016, from http://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/Goal-15.
-The data in Table 1 can be used to make scientific recommendations for prioritizing conservation efforts. Using Table 1, and considering the limited resources and great challenge in coordinating international policies, which regions should be prioritized for conserving biodiversity?

A) Southeastern Asia, because this region has the greatest increase in species extinction risk, as well as higher extinction risk compared to other regions
B) Caucasus and Central Asia, because this region has the highest species extinction risk in both 1993 and 2016
C) Eastern Asia and Oceania, because these regions have experienced the same amount of change in extinction risk of species from 1993 to 2016
D) developed regions, because extinction risk may suddenly increase at rates not recorded previously