A new report published by the World Wildlife Fund has found that global wildlife populations have fallen by a catastrophic 73 percent in the last 50 years. And, not surprisingly, humans are largely to blame for this.
The study, titled 2024 Living Planet Report, examined 5,495 species of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles from 1970 to 2020. The assessment, measured by the Living Planet Index (LPI), found that freshwater populations were harmed. This group had the largest decline with 85 percent, followed by terrestrial populations with 69 percent and marine life with 56 percent.
On a regional scale, Latin America and the Caribbean was hit the hardest, with a “worrying” decline of 95 percent. Africa was the second most affected region at 76 percent; Asia and the Pacific have seen a 60 percent decline in wildlife populations.
Europe and North America were not hit as hard; It dropped only 35 percent and 39 percent, respectively. But this is largely because these regions were already aware of the large-scale impacts humans had on nature before 1970, and some populations had stabilized or increased due to conservation efforts and species reintroductions.
The greatest threat to the global population in every region is habitat degradation and loss, primarily from food systems. Overexploitation, invasive species, and diseases were the next most important factors. Other threats include climate change, primarily in Latin America and the Caribbean; As well as pollution in North America, Asia and the Pacific.
“LPI and similar indicators all show that nature is being destroyed at an alarming rate,” the report's authors write. “While some changes may be small and gradual, their cumulative effects can trigger larger, more rapid change. When cumulative effects reach a threshold, the change becomes self-perpetuating, resulting in significant, often sudden, and potentially irreversible change. This is called turning point.”
“The natural world is likely to experience a number of potentially catastrophic tipping points if current trends continue,” the report continues. “These include global tipping points that pose serious threats to humanity and most species and will disrupt Earth's life support systems and destabilize societies everywhere.”
The report concludes with a dire warning that the next five years will be crucial for the future of life on Earth, to put the planet on a sustainable path before the negative effects of nature degradation and climate change become irreversible. “The risk of failure is real and the consequences almost unthinkable,” he summarizes.