14 DAY TRIAL // This September 29, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a new Living Planet Report. The report in question is the tenth of its kind thus far published by the organization and paints a bleak picture of how the world's biodiversity changed over the past few decades.
Long story short, environmental group WWF says that, according to recent estimates released by conservationists and wildlife researchers, the world lost over half its wildlife between the years 1970 and 2010.
More precisely, the organization says that, within said time frame, the world's population of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish dropped by a whopping 52%. By the looks of it, this loss in biodiversity chiefly occurred in low-income countries.
So, who's to blame for this shocking biodiversity loss?
As mentioned, the WWF report indicates that most of the biodiversity loss documented between the years 1970 and 2010 occurred in low-income countries. Thus, such regions are said to have experienced an average 58% drop in their wildlife population.
By the looks of it, Latin America was hit the hardest. According to figures included in this latest WWF Living Planet Report, this subregion of the Americas witnessed a biodiversity loss of as much as 83%, EurekAlert informs.
Middle-income countries lost plenty of wild animals as well. Specifically, they are estimated to have been left without an average 18% of their overall wildlife population. High-income were the only ones to experience a 10% increase in biodiversity.
What's interesting is that, although low- and middle-income countries are the ones losing biodiversity, environmental group WWF maintains that it's folks living in high-income ones who are to blame for the fact that an ever increasing number of species risk going extinct.
The organization says that high-income countries are currently using more of the planet's resources than they are entitled to. The problem is that, more often than not, these resources come from regions that aren't doing very well economically-wise.
“High-income countries use five times the ecological resources of low-income countries, but low income countries are suffering the greatest ecosystem losses,” Keya Chatterjee with the WWF said in a statement. Furthermore, “In effect, wealthy nations are outsourcing resource depletion.”
As detailed in the environmental group's report, not all ecosystems were affected the same. Thus, the overall 52% wildlife loss documented between 1970 and 2010 comprises terrestrial, marine, and freshwater wildlife population declines of 39%, 39%, and 76%, respectively.
Other highlights of the report
The Living Planet Report released by the WWF this past September 29 also draws attention to the fact that our planet's atmosphere now packs more carbon dioxide than it did in over a million years, and that climate change and global warming are reshaping the world as we know it.
What's more, the organization warns that pollution is destroying lands, rivers and oceans, and that Earth's water supplies are dwindling. Hence, the group urges that further efforts be made to promote sustainability and green living.
“The findings of this year's Living Planet Report make it clearer than ever that there is no room for complacency. It is essential that we seize the opportunity – while we still can – to develop sustainably and create a future where people can live and prosper in harmony with nature,” said WWF International Director General Marco Lambertini.