Between 1970 and 2016, 68% of wildlife disappeared, mainly due to human activity. Ecosystems are degraded, threatening the human race itself, which depends on it for air, drinking water, food ...This just released WWF report recommends fundamental changes in eight areas: land and forest use, agriculture, food system, fisheries and oceans, cities, drinking water, fight against climate change and health.
The global Living Planet Index continues to decline. It shows an average 68% decrease in population sizes of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016. A 94% decline in the LPI for the tropical subregions of the Americas is the largest fall observed in any part of the world.
"At a time when the world is reeling from the deepest global disruption and health crisis of a lifetime, this year’s Living Planet Report provides unequivocal and alarming evidence that nature is unravelling and that our planet is flashing red warning signs of vital natural systems failure.
"The Living Planet Report 2020 clearly outlines how humanity’s increasing destruction of nature is having catastrophic impacts not only on wildlife populations but also on human health and all aspects of our lives."
Biodiversity loss threatens food security and urgent action is needed to address the loss of the biodiversity that feeds the world. Where and how we produce food is one of the biggest human-caused threats to nature and our ecosystems, making the transformation of our global food system more important than ever.
Almost one in three freshwater species are threatened with extinction, with all taxonomic groups showing a higher risk of extinction in the freshwater, compared to the terrestrial, system.
In the last 50 years our world has been transformed by an explosion in global trade, consumption and human population growth, as well as an enormous move towards urbanisation. These underlying trends are driving the unrelenting destruction of nature, with humanity now overusing our natural capital at an unprecedented rate. Only a handful of countries retain most of the last remaining wilderness areas.
As a result of our 21st century lifestyles our natural world is transforming more rapidly than ever before, and climate change is further accelerating the change.
Read: THE LIVING PLANET REPORT
For specifics on Canada's status, see below:
source:wwf.ca
