16 October 2014
WWF Living Planet Report Highlights Biodiversity Loss
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According the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), over half of the world's wildlife populations have been lost over the past four decades.

The organization's ‘Living Planet Report 2014' also finds that humanity's current demand for resources is more than 50% larger than the nature's regenerative capacity.

Published in partnership with the Global Footprint Network, the Water Footprint Network, and the Zoological Society of London, the report provides a science-based analysis on the impacts of human activities on the health of the planet.

WWF30 September 2014: According the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), over half of the world’s wildlife populations have been lost over the past four decades. The organization’s ‘Living Planet Report 2014′ also finds that humanity’s current demand for resources is more than 50% larger than nature’s regenerative capacity. Published in partnership with the Global Footprint Network, the Water Footprint Network, and the Zoological Society of London, the report provides a science-based analysis on the impacts of human activities on the health of the planet.

The Living Planet Report, published biennially, uses the ‘Ecological Footprint’ indicator and the ‘Living Planet Index’ for surveying the state of global biodiversity and human consumption, and the extent of human pressure on the planet, including differences among countries.

Among the 2014 report findings are that: it would take 1.5 Earths to generate the resources necessary for sustaining humanity’s current Ecological Footprint; the world’s per capita biocapacity is 1.7 hectares while average per capita Footprint is 2.6 global hectares; and Footprint contributions vary across countries, ranging from 0.6 to 10.4 global hectares per person.

It also explains that: most high-income countries rely on the biocapacity of other countries to support their lifestyles; per capita Footprints in low- and middle-income countries have seen little increase over the past decades; and carbon dioxide (CO2) from burning fossil fuels remains the dominant component of humanity’s Ecological Footprint, with a rising share, at 53% in 2010. The report stresses the need to decouple the Ecological Footprint and development, and points out that research indicates it is possible to increase living standards while curbing resource use.

On biodiversity, measured by the Living Planet Index, which monitors more than 10,000 representative populations of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, the report concludes that the population sizes of vertebrate species have declined by 52% between 1970 and 2020. The losses include 39% of terrestrial and marine wildlife, and 76% of freshwater wildlife. Living Planet Index trends in low-income countries show “dramatic and marked declines,” at 58% over this period. The report suggests this may reflect the “outsourcing of biodiversity loss” by high-income countries.

According to Mathis Wackernagel, President and Co-founder of the Global Footprint Network, “it is no coincidence that our ecological footprint has climbed while biodiversity has plummeted” and, therefore “humanity must learn to live within the budget of nature.” The Living Planet Report also stresses the interdependencies among food, water and energy security, and ecosystem health, noting that “how we produce food, use water or generate energy impacts on the biosphere that supports these needs.” [WWF Press Release] [Global Footprint Network Press Release] [WWF Publication Webpage] [Publication: Living Planet Report 2014: Species and Spaces, People and Places]

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