The average size of wildlife populations around the world has plummeted by 73% in just 50 years, according to a new report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) which reveals a ‘system in peril’.
WWF today released its Living Planet Report 2024, a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
Now in its 15th edition, the report provides a science-led overview of the state of the natural world and includes the Living Planet Index, which tracks how species populations are faring around the world.
Dr Kayla Kingdon-Bebb, CEO of WWF-New Zealand, says the report’s findings are a stark warning for Aotearoa New Zealand and further confirmation that we need to take urgent action to halt and reverse nature loss before it’s too late.
Globally, species population numbers have plummeted by 73% on average since 1970. Freshwater populations have suffered the heaviest global declines, falling by 85%, followed by terrestrial (-69%) and marine populations (-56%).
The steepest declines in monitored wildlife populations were recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (-95%), Africa (-76%) and the Asia-Pacific region (-60%).
In the Asia-Pacific region, one of the species populations at risk is a well-known visitor to New Zealand waters: the leatherback turtle. There has been a 78% decline in the estimated number of leatherback turtle nests on one of the last remaining turtle-nesting beaches (Jamursba Medi Beach) over the past 27 years.
Meanwhile, rising sea temperatures coupled with ecosystem degradation have led to mass coral bleaching events throughout Oceania. Each bleaching event weakens the coral, leaving it unable to cope with other pressures, like pollution and overfishing.
Such alarming global trends are also reflected in Aotearoa New Zealand, where over 4000 of our native species are now threatened or at risk of extinction - the highest species extinction rate in the world.
“We are nearing dangerous global tipping points and could reach a point of no return,” says Dr Kingdon-Bebb.
“It’s not an exaggeration to say the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss are the existential challenges of our time - but unfortunately we have a Government that’s recklessly pursuing short-term economic growth at the expense of our native species and the habitats on which they rely.”
The Government’s proposed Fast Track regime is a case in point, Dr Kingdon-Bebb says.
“This Government wants to mine the seabed off Taranaki despite it being home to blue whales and the rare Māui dolphin, and it wants to plonk a previously rejected salmon farm in the middle of a critical habitat for endangered hoiho (yellow-eyed penguin). This reckless Bill is almost certainly condemning some of Aotearoa’s native species to extinction.”
“WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report is a sobering read and should be a wake-up call for our Government. It’s time we stop plundering nature for profit.”
Dr Kirsten Schuijt, Director General of WWF-International, says nature is issuing a “distress call”.
“The catastrophic consequences of losing some of our most precious ecosystems, like the Amazon rainforest and coral reefs, would be felt by people and nature around the world.”
Dr Schuijt says the decisions made and action taken over the next five years will be crucial for the future of life on Earth.
“The power − and opportunity − are in our hands to change the trajectory. We can restore our living planet if we act now.”