Its Living Planet Report 2024 – based on analysis of 35,000 vertebrate populations of 5,495 species from 1970-2020 – shows that the steepest decline has been in freshwater populations on 85%, followed by terrestrial and marine on 69% and 56%, respectively.
This includes a 57% decline in nesting female hawksbill turtles between 1990 and 2018 on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, a 65% decline in Amazon pink river dolphins, and an 88% decline in Chinook salmon in the Sacramento River in California.
Habitat loss and degradation and overharvesting, driven primarily by the global food system, are the dominant threats to wildlife populations around the world, followed by invasive species, disease and climate change.
WWF warns that parts of the planet are approaching dangerous tipping points driven by the combination of nature loss and climate change, which pose grave threats to humanity.
“Sharp declines in wildlife populations are a clear and urgent warning,” said WWF chief scientist Rebecca Shaw, said: “These steep drops signal that nature is unraveling and becoming less resilient.
“When nature is compromised, it is more vulnerable to climate change and edges closer to dangerous and irreversible regional tipping points. When this happens in too many places around the globe, it threatens the very air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat.”
Despite the fall in wildlife populations, there are some that have stabilised or increased due to effective conservation efforts, such as a rise from 0 to 6,800 in bison populations across central Europe between 1970 and 2020.
With COP16 beginning on Monday, and COP29 next month, WWF is calling for countries to develop and implement ambitious national nature and climate plans by reducing global overconsumption in food and energy in an equitable manner.
“Nature provides the foundation for human health, a stable climate, the world's economy, and life on earth," said WWF-US CEO Carter Roberts. “The Living Planet Report updates 50-year trend lines of how much we've lost and tipping points that lie ahead.
“It highlights the most powerful tools to stem the loss and match the scale of this slow-motion catastrophe. A wake-up call that we need to get going, and fast.”
Image credit: Shutterstock
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of IEMA’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for IEMA members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.