How much are we really losing?
Written by: Sabrina Careri for Ann Dale
This October, the World Wildlife Fund released the 2024 Living Planet Report, revealing a staggering 73% average decline in global wildlife populations over the past 50 years, between 1970 to 2020.
Freshwater species populations had the largest number in decline, falling by 85%, followed by terrestrial populations at 69% and marine populations at 56%. Regional disparities were also presented, with the fastest declines seen in Latin America and the Caribbean – a 95% decline – followed by Africa at 76% and Asia and the Pacific at 60%.
These numbers serve as a radical reminder of the increasing risks of extinction, and the loss of healthy ecosystems worldwide. The primary driver of this alarming trend is habitat loss and degradation (largely attributed to our food system that has become unsustainable), followed by overexploitation of resources, invasive species, disease, and climate change.
This decline in populations threatens the resilience and the functions of the natural world, which we depend on for health and wellbeing. From food, to clean water, and pollination and carbon storage, among countless others, the free benefits that nature provides us are slipping away, under threat like never before.
The report highlights how we are dangerously approaching ecological “tipping points” - where the damage that we are causing to nature can become irreversible. Even with global commitments, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, we continue to fall short of our goals as progress remains insufficient to halt the loss of global biodiversity.
These findings underscore the critical importance for transformative action to address the root causes. Together, immediate and sustained conservation efforts are needed to protect and restore the plants biodiversity, or we risk crossing thresholds that would collapse entire ecosystems and destabilize our climate system - the foundation that sustains all life on earth.
As stated in the report, “every indicator that tracks the state of nature on a global scale shows a decline.” This demands transformation on behalf of us all. From transformation in terms of conservation efforts, our food system, our energy system, and our governments, to our thinking, our way of life, and beyond.
Together, we must be successful. We have just one living planet, and one opportunity to get it right. - WWF 2024
