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Ecosystems Under Siege (California Academy of Science

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Ecosystems Under Siege (California Academy of Science

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Biodiversity Adversely Affected

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"Exploding human consumption" has caused a massive drop in the global wildlife population in recent decades, the WWF conservation group says.

In a report, the charity says 60% of all vertebrates - mammals, fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles - were wiped out between 1970 and 2014.

"Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions," the WWF's Living Planet Report adds.

It urges policy makers to set new targets for sustainable development.

The Living Planet Report, published every two years, aims to assess the state of the world's wildlife.

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The 2018 edition says only a quarter of the world's land area is now free from the impact of human activity and the proportion will have fallen to just a 10th by 2050.

The change is being driven by ever-rising food production and increased demand for energy, land and water.

Although forest loss has been slowed by reforestation in some regions in recent decades, the loss has "accelerated in tropical forests that contain some of the highest levels of biodiversity on Earth", the report notes.

It says South and Central America suffered the most dramatic decline in vertebrate populations - an 89% loss in vertebrate populations compared with 1970.

Marine freshwater species are particularly at risk, the report says. Plastic pollution has been detected in the deepest parts of the word's oceans, including the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific.

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Freshwater species - living in lakes, rivers and wetlands - have seen an 83% decline in numbers since since 1970, according to the report.

The WWF calls for "a new global deal for nature and people" similar to the 2015 Paris agreement to tackle climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"Decision makers at every level need to make the right political, financial and consumer choices to achieve the vision that humanity and nature thrive in harmony on our only planet," the report says.

The data, gathered from peer-reviewed studies, covers more than 16,700 populations belonging to 4,000 species around the world.

The WWF's methodology has been criticised. One conservationist told the BBC in 2016 that the data in the 2016 report was skewed towards western Europe, where figures were more readily available.

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"Exploding human consumption" has caused a massive drop in the global wildlife population in recent decades, the WWF conservation group says. In a report, the charity says 60% of all vertebrates - mammals, fish, birds, amphibians and reptiles - were wiped out between 1970 and 2014.

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Global wildlife population shrank by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014, according to the World Wildlife Fund's 2018 Living Planet report.

"Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions," the report warns.

The Living Planet Report, which publishes every two years, tracked more than 4,000 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.

Declines are worst in the tropics, according to the data, as South and Central American saw a 89 percent decrease. Also, freshwater species saw an 83 percent drop, threatened by factors including overfishing, pollution and climate change, WWF notes.

The report estimates that only a quarter of the world's land is untouched by humans who are increasing food production and use of natural resources. America is among the countries using the most natural resources, according to a WWF map showing North America and Canada consuming more than seven global hectares per person.

More: UN report: 'Unprecedented changes' needed to protect Earth from global warming

Marco Lambertini, WWF director general, is using the data as a call to action, saying this is the first generation that has a clear picture of human's impact on nature and has the ability to reverse the trends.

"We can be the founders of a global movement that changed our relationship with the planet, that saw us secure a future for all life on Earth, including our own," Lambertini said in the report's forward. "Or we can be the generation that had its chance and failed to act; that let Earth slip away."
Follow Ashley May on Twitter: @AshleyMayTweets
Read or Share this story: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/10/30/living-planet-report-60-percent-animal-populations-gone-wwf/1817210002/

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We've lost 60 percent of animal populations since 1970. This generation may be last to save nature, report says

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CLOSE Global wildlife population shrank by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014, according to the World Wildlife Fund's 2018 Living Planet report. "Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions," the report warns. The Living Planet Report, which publishes every two years, tracked more than 4,000 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.