Skip to content
The speed and intensity with which we’re destroying the natural world is continuing at pace because leaders are failing to deliver on their promises for nature and climate, putting unbearable strain on our planet and placing all life on Earth on the brink of catastrophe, according to WWF.
WWF’s flagship Living Planet Report, published today (13 October), shows that population sizes of global wildlife have plummeted by 69% on average since 1970.
If we considered humankind as a single population, that would be the equivalent of us losing everyone from Europe, the Americas, Africa, Oceania and China.
This year’s report is the most comprehensive in its 24-year history and is based on data from ZSL’s Living Planet Index (LPI), which analyses almost 32,000 populations of 5,230 species – with more than 838 new species and just over 11,000 new populations added since the previous 2020 report.
It emphasises that without halting and then reversing this catastrophic loss of the natural world, our climate fight will be lost.
The report points to the consumption habits of wealthy countries and our reliance on fossil fuels as disproportionally driving nature loss.
WWF is particularly concerned about data from tropical regions including the Caribbean and Latin America – home to the Amazon and one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth, which are seeing average wildlife population sizes plummet by 94% since 1970.
This staggering rate outstrips all other regions on Earth. Species seeing catastrophic loss include the Amazon pink river dolphin, which saw its population in the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian state of Amazonas plummet by 65% between 1994 and 2016.
WWF says that increased conservation and restoration action in these tropical regions is urgently needed but these efforts will not succeed unless world leaders, including the UK government, get nature and climate promises back on track.
But action needs to be taken everywhere, not just in the tropics.
According to the Biodiversity Intactness Index, the UK has only 50% of its biodiversity richness compared with historic levels, making us one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world.
Despite these harrowing statistics, there are huge gaps in the delivery of climate and nature promises from world leaders.
WWF warns that the UK government, elected on its ‘greenest ever manifesto’, must double down on delivering its climate and nature commitments, and embrace net zero solutions as the only route to economic, energy and food security.
At a time when the UK is grappling with a cost of living and energy crisis, a rapid shift to net-zero solutions, such as cost-effective renewable energy, would stimulate investment and get the economy back on track.
Such interventions will enable the UK to compete better on world markets, create many new jobs, slash emissions, make space for nature and build the resilience of the UK’s food and energy systems for future generations.
‘Despite the science, the catastrophic projections, the impassioned speeches and promises, the burning forests, submerged countries, record temperatures and displaced millions – world leaders continue to sit back and watch our world burn in front of our eyes.
‘The climate and nature crises, their fates entwined, are not some faraway threat our grandchildren will solve with still-to-be-discovered technology.
‘Across the world, and in the UK, nature is on its knees and our leaders are risking catastrophic consequences for people, planet and our economy by failing to act. We are hurtling towards a hotter planet where nature – and with it, our food, our homes and livelihoods – will be unable to survive without urgent action now to save our climate.
‘The world doesn’t have time to wait – and doing so would be the biggest possible betrayal of future generations.’
TANYA STEELE
Chief executive at WWF
The Living Planet Report makes clear that delivering a nature-positive future will not be possible without recognising and respecting the rights, governance and conservation leadership of Indigenous Peoples and local communities around the world.
Speaking about land in her Indigenous community, Auricélia Arapiun, leader of CITA – Tapajós Arapiuns Indigenous Council in the Para state of the Brazilian Amazon, said she has had to fight for her children’s future.
‘The decline in animals across our land is stark – we used to see armadillos every day, now we see none. Jaguars used to be hard to spot, but because their hunting grounds and the trees that were their habitats have been destroyed, they come to our villages and kill our dogs. We have to keep a very careful eye on our children. This never used to happen, they would hunt and roam in the forest.
‘I have chosen to sacrifice my life and my location to make sure that my children have a sacred place they can call home when they grow up. I’m fighting for their future.’
AURICÉLIA ARAPIUN
Leader of CITA
In South and Western Australia, there was a two-thirds (64%) reduction of Australian sea lion pups between 1977 and 2019 due to hunting as well as pups being caught in fishing gear or other marine debris or dying of disease.
Every year, we lose 10 million hectares of forests – about the size of Portugal – and this destruction is detrimental to the climate, food security and the livelihoods of millions globally.
On average, monitored populations of oceanic sharks and rays have decreased by 71% in the last 50 years.
‘Our Living Planet Index continues to show sustained declines in wildlife populations. We now have more data than ever about trends in biodiversity and – across a variety of indicators - it’s clear we are being sent a serious message: we are eroding the very foundations of life and urgent action is needed.
‘Governments meeting this December in Montreal have the opportunity to secure the health of species and restore ecosystems, to ensure a future for nature across the globe. ZSL is calling on world leaders to put nature at the heart of all global decision-making at COP 15, by making stronger targets and commitments to reverse biodiversity loss – and urge them to include the LPI as a headline indicator through which to hold these targets to account.’
DR ROBIN FREEMAN
Head of Indicators & Assessments Unit at ZSL
The number of loggerhead turtle nests increased by 500% along the coastline of Chrysochou Bay, Cyprus, between 1999 and 2015, due to targeted conservation efforts including using cages to protect turtle nests from foxes and relocating nests from areas under heavy tourist pressure or laid too close to the sea.
In the UK, the common crane became extinct around 1600 due to hunting and loss of habitat. However, a small breeding population was re-established in Norfolk in 1979 and a reintroduction programme launched in Somerset in 2010. 2021 was the most successful year for cranes since the 17th century. The total population is now thought to stand at more than 200.
Despite years of civil unrest in the region where mountain gorillas live, conservation efforts have found success. In the Virunga Mountains along the northern border of Rwanda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, populations of mountain gorillas have grown to 604 individuals, up from 480 individuals in 2010.
WWF stresses that these intensifying crises can be halted and reversed – but we need to see transformational change agreed by world leaders at the UN biodiversity summit this December.
The summit represents the culmination of a multi-year process to negotiate the Global Biodiversity Framework and is seen as the last opportunity to forge a landmark agreement to halt and reverse nature loss by 2030.
However, the whole process is in jeopardy with far from finalised agreements and insufficient progress.
WWF warns if we fail to act to restore nature and safeguard the stability of the climate by 2030, the damage will become irreversible, leading to a domino effect in the shutdown of critical ecosystems around the world.
WWF is calling on the UK government, along with every world leader, to commit to five key promises in order to bring our world back to life:
1. Deliver the net zero emissions target to avoid catastrophic climate change
2. Protect and restore nature
3. Stop funding harmful food production that destroys climate and nature
4. Protect our environmental standards from bad deals
5. Protect our forests and keep deforestation out of our supply chains
‘The solutions are there across every sector, and in the hands of our own Government. Nature is not only our biggest ally in the fight against climate change, but its power as a climate solution will have huge benefits for people’s health, wildlife, food production and the economy. However, we can only reap these rewards with a swift, ambitious and brave transformation of the way in which society operates.
‘This December, our leaders have a ‘now or never’ opportunity to demonstrate real leadership on the global stage by accelerating action and keeping their promises to restore nature and safeguard our net zero goals. But right now, they’re not on track to deliver.
‘We need our new Prime Minister to show the UK is serious about helping people, nature and the economy to thrive, by ensuring every promise for our world is kept. Falling short will be neither forgotten nor forgiven.’
TANYA STEELE
Chief executive at WWF
Sorry we don't have any suggested related content at the moment. Please check back later.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Weekly ethical news, offers, comps and a free digital mag (quarterly) – what’s not to love?
