Wildlife populations of monitored animal species have declined by more than 70% over the past half century, according to the latest edition of WWF's historical assessment.
WWF's Living Planet Index, which includes data from 35,000 populations of more than 5,000 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish, shows accelerating population declines worldwide.
In biodiversity-rich regions such as Latin America and the Caribbean, the loss of animal populations has reached 95%.
The report tracks population trends for a large number of species, not the number of individual animals.
He found that the populations in question have declined by 73% since 1970, mostly due to human factors.
The index has become a major international indicator and comes just ahead of the next UN summit on biodiversity, which will be dedicated to the issue when it opens in Colombia later this month.
"The picture that is emerging is extremely worrying," said Kirsten Schuitt, Director General of WWF International, at a press briefing.
"It's not just about wildlife, it's about the essential ecosystems that support human life," said Daudi Sumba, chief conservation officer at WWF.
The report reiterates the need to simultaneously confront the "interrelated" crises of climate change and nature destruction, and warns of major "tipping points" approaching certain ecosystems.
"The changes could be irreversible and lead to devastating consequences for humanity," he says, citing the example of deforestation in the Amazon, which could "turn this critical ecosystem from a carbon sink into a carbon source."
"Habitat degradation and loss, driven primarily by our food system, is the most reported threat in each region, followed by overexploitation, invasive species and disease," the report said.
Other threats include climate change, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, and pollution, particularly in North America, Asia and the Pacific.
The decline in populations of freshwater species was the greatest, followed by terrestrial and marine vertebrates.
"We have emptied the oceans of 40% of their biomass," says Jan Laurens of WWF France.
Continent by continent, the average decline reached 95% in Latin America and the Caribbean, followed by Africa, where the decline was 76%, and then Asia and the Pacific, where the decline was 60%. Population declines have been "less impressive" in Europe, Central Asia and North America.
The report notes that some populations have stabilized or even increased thanks to conservation and species reintroduction efforts.
The European bison, for example, became extinct in the wild in 1927, but in 2020 numbered 6,800 individuals thanks to large-scale breeding and successful reintroductions, mainly in protected areas.
While calling the overall picture "incredibly worrisome," Schuitt added, "The good news is that we have not yet passed the point of no return."
She highlighted global efforts, including the breakthrough pact landed at the last UN Biodiversity Summit in 2022, to protect 30% of the planet by 2030 from pollution, degradation and climate change.
But she warned that "all these agreements have checkpoints in 2030 that are in danger of being missed".
Several scientific studies published by the journal Nature accused the WWF of methodological errors in its index that lead to an exaggeration of the rate of animal decline.
"We remain really confident in its reliability," Andrew Terry of the Zoological Society of London told a press briefing, highlighting the use of "a range of indicators looking at extinction risk, biodiversity and ecosystem health to broaden that picture". | BGNES
