30th September, 2014
Wildlife populations around the globe have declined by more than 50 per cent over the past 40 years, according to the latest edition of the landmark Living Planet Report.
The 10th edition of the report, produced by the World Wild Fund for Nature in conjunction with the Global Footprint Network, the Water Footprint Network and the Zoological Society of London, records that populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles have declined by 52 per cent since 1970.
While terrestrial species declined by 39 per cent over the period and marine species by 39 per cent, freshwater species recorded a 76 per cent decline in population numbers with the majority of the losses located in tropical regions. Latin America was the region of the world with the greatest decline ” seeing an 83 per cent drop in population numbers ” followed by the Asia-Pacific region.
The report also shows that we would need 1.5 Earths to keep up with the demand we are now placing on our ecological resources. While technological advances, agricultural inputs and irrigation have boosted the productivity of crops, increases in the population mean the ecological footprint of each human has still increased between 1961 and 2010, from 2.5 global hectares to 2.7 global hectares per person.
The total ecological footprints of China, the US, India, Brazil and Russia are roughly equivalent to that of the rest of the world thanks to large populations in those countries while the 10 countries with the highest per capita ecological footprints are Kuwait, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, the US, Bahrain and Sweden.
Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, writes that “in a world where so many people live in poverty, it may appear as though protecting nature is a luxury”.
“But it is quite the opposite. For many of the world”s poorest people, it is a lifeline. Importantly though, we are all in this together. We all need nutritious food, fresh water and clean air ” wherever in the world we live.”
He writes that while things look so worrying, it may seem difficult to feel positive about the future, “we can find the solution”.
“Now we must work to ensure that the upcoming generation can seize the opportunity that we have so far failed to grasp, to close this destructive chapter in our history, and build a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature.”
– DAVID ADAMS
Correction: This name of the World Wide Fund for Nature was originally incorrect in this article.
