Living Planet Report 2022: Wildlife populations decline by 69% in 50 years

There has been a 69% decline in the abundance of wildlife populations across the globe in the last 50 years. This finding has been published in the Living Planet Report by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The report, released on October 13, 2022, showed that the highest decline (94%) was in Latin America and the Caribbean region. According to the WWF report, Africa recorded a 66% fall in its wildlife populations whereas Asia-Pacific recorded a 55% fall, from 1970-2018. The Living Planet Index (LPI), features about 32,000 populations of 5,230 species across the world in the report. The report identified six key threats to biodiversity — agriculture, hunting, logging, pollution, invasive species and climate change — to highlight ‘threat hotspots' for terrestrial vertebrates. Populations of freshwater species reduced globally by 83 per cent, confirming that the planet is experiencing a “biodiversity and climate crisis”. Not just wildlife populations but biodiversity hotspots have also taken a huge hit.
According to the report, Mangroves continue to be lost to aquaculture, agriculture and coastal development at a rate of 0.13 per cent per year. Many mangroves are also degraded by overexploitation, pollution, and coastal erosion. Around 137 square kilometres of the Sundarbans mangrove forest in India and Bangladesh has been eroded since 1985, reducing land and ecosystem services for many of the 10 million people who live there. The report concludes that biodiversity loss and climate crisis should be dealt with as one instead of two different issues as they are intertwined.

[jtfritchie]

Great work as always. Minor note that the WWF is the World Wildlife Fund.

[aayushpatel]

Human greed has no limits. No-one want to understand the cause and effect of suffering footprints we are leaving behind. News and studies like LIVING PLANET indeed surprise us but rarely urges comman humans to make efforts to make mother thrive.

[varadn]

This is the worst phase among animals in history of Earth🤬

[mohammadizamreen]

They have to pay price for development

[arjunam]

The human population is increasing which is the greatest threat to the declining wildlife population...

[sleyaraze]

I really have no words. Humans are such pests.

[oceanpearl...]

In bbc report it shows it was declined by 70 %
But in down to earth it shows 69%
Who is correct????

[abh]

I want to say "Nice" but this is depressing.

[westho]

Conspicuous consumption in all its friggin glory, Do less, use less, be less. lessen our appetites for consumption & destruction starting at the top of the human food chain.

[matrix]

88 billion animals are slaughtered for humans every year . people still die out of hunger . meat and dairy are killing wild life

[stutisingh]

Avoid non least you will contribute a bit in saving the environment