Wildlife Populations Have Shrunk 73% Since 1970. A New Report Argues There Is Still a Case for Hope
The report says habitat loss and overexploitation remain the main threats, even as conservation has helped some species recover.
- The 2026 Living Planet Report, subtitled "The Science of Hope," reveals monitored wildlife populations have plummeted 73% since 1970, with WWF International director general Kirsten Schuijt framing the data to prevent public despair.
- Agriculture remains the primary driver of habitat loss, while about $7.3 trillion flowed into nature-harming activities in 2023 compared with $220 billion for protective measures. Burning fossil fuels exacerbates climate change affecting every ecosystem.
- Conservation efforts yielded successes: green sea turtles moved to "least concern" status in 2025 after 50 years of work, while tigers surged 70% since 2010 and bluefin tuna and African savannah elephants also recovered.
- WWF chief scientist Dr. Rebecca Shaw argued that specific recoveries prove "conservation works," while researchers at the University of Exeter suggest systems can reach "positive tipping points" where sustainable shifts become cheaper and self-reinforcing.
- The report arrives weeks before United Nations summits: the biodiversity conference COP17 runs October 19 to 30 in Yerevan, Armenia, followed by climate conference COP31 from November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Turkey.
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30 Articles
While the size of the animal populations studied decreased by 73% between 1970 and 2022, 50% of them are stable or increasing, relativizes the NGO, which publishes its report "Living Planet" on Thursday.
WWF's Planet Vivo 2026 Report maintains alarming value, but points out for the first time concrete recovery cases. Tigre has gone from 3,200 to 5,700 copies since 2010.
The energy transition is ultimately also good for global biodiversity. "We have been concerned for some time that the news surrounding nature is always negative."
dagelijksestandaard.nl
welingelichtekringen.nlZEIST (ANP) - Global biodiversity continues to decline "at an alarming rate," concludes the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in a new edition of the Living Planet Report. In more than half a century, wild animal populations have shrunk by an average of 73 percent. Yet the WWF also sees hay...
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cedarnews.netWWF: Wild Animal Populations Have Shrunk Significantly Since 1970, 'but Nature Recovery Is Possible'
Populations of birds, mammals, reptiles, and other vertebrates have declined by nearly three-quarters on average since 1970, a biennial report by the World Wildlife Fund confirms. However, there are large differences: half of the studied populations are stable or increasing. The other half is declining, sometimes sharply. A population is a group of animals of the same species that live close together. Think of a group of savanna elephants in Za…
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