For three decades, WWF’s Living Planet Report has charted the shocking decline in the state of nature, the latest edition shows that wildlife continues to be lost at an alarming rate.

But it also finds signs of hope: when we act together, nature can recover. And change can happen quicker than we think. Like every other species on Earth, people depend on nature. Yet we are destroying the living systems that sustain us. Wildlife populations are plummeting. The size of populations of wild species fell by 73% on average between 1970 and 2022, according to the Living Planet Index. This is based on scientific monitoring data from 35,803 populations and 5,790 species of amphibians, birds, fishes, mammals, and reptiles. Freshwater species are faring worst, with average population sizes plunging -85%. At a regional level, the steepest declines since 1970 have been recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (-95%), Africa (-80%), and Asia and the Pacific (-49%). Nature is in crisis – but there are signs of hope. While the headline statistics make grim reading, not all species are declining. In fact, around half the populations in the Living Planet Index are stable or even increasing. Halting and reversing the loss of nature is possible.

Links:
Living Planet Report

Hoe gaat het met de natuur wereldwijd?