Since 1970, global trends show a stark decline in vertebrate populations, with an average decrease of 69 percent. This figure comes from the Living Planet Report, compiled by the World Wide Fund for Nature, which tracks changes across multiple species over decades to reveal the health of Earth’s ecosystems.
The 14th edition of the report analyzes about 32,000 populations spanning more than 6,000 vertebrate species, including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, covering data from 1970 to 2018. It paints a comprehensive picture of how human activity has reshaped life in freshwater, marine, and terrestrial environments over nearly half a century.
A striking finding is that freshwater species are the most affected, with aquatic habitats bearing the heaviest losses. The tropics emerge as the region with the greatest impact, recording an 83 percent decline since 1979. Within this broad pattern, Latin America and the Caribbean experienced an especially severe decline, averaging 94 percent when compared to baseline years.
The report also highlights global coral reef deterioration; it notes a 65 percent decrease in the Amazon pink river dolphin population and a roughly 71 percent drop in 18 of 31 oceanic shark and ray species, largely driven by fishing pressure and bycatch.
Direct drivers of biodiversity loss span terrestrial, marine, and freshwater ecosystems. These include changes in land use, overexploitation of wildlife and ecosystems, climate change, pollution, and the spread of invasive species. Together, these pressures contribute to broad declines in wildlife populations, with Africa and the Asia-Pacific region each recording substantial losses in the 55 percent range.
Beyond species loss, the report documents ecosystem degradation and the erosion of ecosystem services that humans rely on for food, water, and livelihoods. Authors stress that rising demand for energy, food, and materials—fueled by population growth, economic development, global trade, and technological advancement—drives these trends and calls for urgent action to reverse them.
To halt further destruction, the report proposes practical actions such as recognizing mangroves as essential for coastal resilience and restoring natural landscape connectivity to sustain ecological networks. It emphasizes the critical role forests play in stabilizing the climate and cautions that deforestation, especially in tropical regions, increases carbon emissions, heightens drought risk, and fuels more frequent fires.
In this context, the loss of biodiversity and the climate crisis form a reinforcing cycle that disproportionately harms poor and vulnerable communities. The report cites consequences such as displacement, higher mortality from extreme weather events, soil degradation, reduced access to clean water, and rising zoonotic diseases and food insecurity.
Drawing on the latest data from the Zoological Society of London’s Living Planet Index, the study argues that the biodiversity and climate crises can be mitigated through robust conservation and restoration efforts, alongside sustainable food production and consumption and a rapid, deep decarbonization of all sectors.
It also notes that achieving none of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those tied to food and water security, will be possible without protecting biodiversity and curbing climate change. The authors urge policymakers to rethink economic systems so that natural resources are valued and conserved, recognizing the rights and leadership of Indigenous peoples and local communities as essential to any lasting solution.
In 2021, the United Nations Human Rights Council affirmed the right of all people to live in a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, and many nations have strengthened environmental laws and public participation in decision-making. Leaders are urged to adopt bold, Paris-like agreements to reverse biodiversity loss and secure a healthier natural world by 2030, aligning policy with science and local knowledge to ensure a sustainable future for both nature and people, now and for generations to come.
Juan Carlos del Olmo, secretary general of WWF Spain, emphasized the need for systemic changes that address equity and responsible consumption, calling for approaches that integrate human economies with living systems. The report expects momentum at the CBD COP15 to translate into concrete commitments that safeguard biodiversity and foster a nature-positive future for all regions.