Report: World wildlife populations dropped by nearly three-quarters in 50 years

Worldwide wildlife populations have shrunk by nearly three-quarters on average over the past 50 years, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said Thursday in the latest edition of its Living Planet Report.

The report monitors population trends across nearly 5,500 species from 1970 to 2020 and found that, on average, vertebrate wildlife populations fell 73 percent during that period. Within that broader group, the report found the steepest losses among freshwater wildlife populations, which fell 85 percent, while land-based populations fell 69 percent and sea life declined 56 percent. The percentages are a measure of average change across monitored populations, not a worldwide drop, according to the foundation.

The report, the 15th issues by the WWF, named habitat loss and degradation, driven largely by human food production, as the top cause of population loss. It also found human food production is the cause of 70 percent of water use and more than 25 percent of greenhouse gas emissions.

In a press release announcing the findings, the WWF criticized the recent announcement by the European Union that it will delay the implementation of anti-deforestation regulations for another year, also noting August saw Amazon rainforest fire outbreaks reach a 14-year high. Coral reefs, meanwhile, faced their fourth mass global bleaching event this year, according to the organization.

“The findings of this report are alarming, and EU consumption continues to be a major driver of global biodiversity loss, particularly in critical ecosystems like the Amazon, which is nearing an irreversible tipping point,” said Anke Schulmeister-Oldenhove, senior Forest Policy Officer manager for the WWF European Policy Office, in a statement. “Despite this, the European Commission has recently proposed delaying the implementation of the EU deforestation law—a law that could help alleviate this destructive pressure. How much more forest must we lose before policymakers grasp the urgency of immediate action?”