Red Lists: Gauging the force of nature in North Macedonia Photo by Dragan Arsovski / 15 May 2020 Maintaining healthy ecosystems are important to help protect against the spread of disease. A large mixture of species means that some act as ‘dead end’ hosts, preventing diseases from spreading. As countries plan their , it is crucial that the role biodiversity plays in underpinning the health of people and planet is taken into account. Here’s one example from North Macedonia. The creation of the first National Red Lists there will provide insight on extinction risks at national level and help assess the impact of measures to preserve biodiversity.