Nature is in “free fall” as a result of human activity, with global wildlife populations declining by nearly three-quarters in 50 years, conservationists have warned.
The world is rapidly approaching dangerous and irreversible ‘tipping points’ in natural systems such as the Amazon rainforest and polar ice sheets, which pose grave threats to humans and wildlife, says Nature Conservancy A new report from the charity WWF has been published.
The latest edition of the Living Planet Index, compiled by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), shows that global populations of monitored amphibians, birds, fish, mammals and reptiles have declined by an average of 73% over 50 years. It warns that
turning point
This decline is caused by human activities such as habitat destruction for food production, and is now being exacerbated by climate change.
The index forms part of WWF’s latest Living Planet report, which calls for urgent action to transform the food production, energy and financial systems behind the decline of nature on which human survival depends. Calling for action.
The report, released as countries prepare for the United Nations Cop16 and Cop29 conferences on nature and climate, warns of a tipping point where impacts on natural systems reach a threshold that could trigger significant and irreversible changes. It warns us that it is rapidly approaching.
These include mass mortality of corals, destroying fishing and storm protection for millions of people in coastal areas, while melting ice sheets in Greenland and West Antarctica will raise sea levels by several meters. will cause
Deforestation and climate change could soon reach a point in the Amazon where it becomes unsuitable for rainforest, emitting massive amounts of carbon and triggering a tipping point that changes global weather patterns.
tumbling
The Living Planet Index, based on data on 35,000 population trends and 5,495 species, found that Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing the fastest decline in wildlife, with average wildlife populations declining by 95% over 50 years.
The decline was less dramatic in Europe and North America, but this reflects that large-scale impacts on nature in these parts of the world were already occurring before 1970, the report says. .
WWF Chief Scientific Adviser Mike Barrett said the 73 per cent decline was “truly shocking”.
“This is not just the Living Planet Index; all globally recognized indicators, such as population richness, species diversity, extinction rates, or the extent and integrity of natural habitats, all do exactly the same thing. “All this tells us that nature is in free fall,” he said.
The report highlights the dramatic decline in populations of creatures ranging from nesting female hawksbill sea turtles on the Great Barrier Reef to Amazon pink river dolphins in Brazil.
Harmful
It also highlights some bright spots in conservation, such as the rise in mountain gorillas in East Africa’s Virunga Mountains and the resurgence of European bison populations in central Europe, but they are limited by widespread habitat destruction. He warns that this is not enough.
