Wild animal populations have collapsed by 73% in 50 years, warns WWF in a new report

“We are not exaggerating when we say that what happens in the next five years will determine the future of life on Earth.” In the latest edition of its Living Planet report, published Thursday October 10, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) notes that“a planet in danger”. The average size of populations of wild animals monitored – fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles – has decreased by 73% since the 1970s, warns the NGO’s biennial publication, incriminating “the incessant pressure” of a “double crisis” : climate change and the collapse of ecosystems.

Man (and his needs for, among other things, food and heating) are at the origin of these Siamese existential threats. But it also has the power to change in a virtuous circle the destructive logics which have led the natural regulation systems of our planet to the limits of collapse, insists the NGO with the famous logo representing a panda. As world leaders meet in Colombia at the end of October for the 16th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, COP16, WWF is calling “to change trajectory” : “Although time is running out, we have not yet reached the point of no return.”

The leatherback turtles of the Maroni River strait, the tree frog of the waters of the Loire, the elephants that populate the forests of Gabon… With its Living Planet Index (LPI), the WWF monitors nearly 35,000 animal populations over time, belonging to 5,495 species around the world. Every two years, the NGO compares the number of individuals with its reference figure and draws “trends revealing the functioning state of ecosystems”, explains the report. However, considering the most recent figures, which date from 2020, “the trend is confirmed”, regrets Yann Laurans, program director of the French branch of the NGO. “We continue overfishing, deforestation does not stop, harmful subsidies [à la nature] are still there…”he lists, describing “heterogeneous situations” from one region and from one species to another.

It is in Latin America and the Caribbean that the populations monitored are experiencing the most radical collapse (-95%). Hunted, caught in nets and exposed to climatic hazards, the pink dolphin of the Amazon, in Brazil, for example, declined by 65% ​​between 1994 and 2016, details the report. While Africa shows an GPI of -76% in 50 years, and Asia and the Pacific of -60%, Europe and Central Asia, as well as North America (respectively -35% and -39%), for their part, display better health in trompe-l’oeil.

In the Northern Hemisphere, the collapse of biodiversity had already begun when the IPV was implemented in 1970. The collapse is more recent in the Southern Hemisphere.

Yann Laurans

director of programs at WWF France

Despite this methodological bias which favors the North, Chinook salmon, which cruise in the waters of the Sacramento River, in California, have for example seen their population decline by 88%, hampered by dams and battered by droughts and heatwaves. , warns the WWF.

Victim of habitat modification, overexploitation, pollution and climate change, freshwater fish (along with reptiles and amphibians) are the most mistreated group of species in Europe. The populations of freshwater species are also those showing the greatest decline on a global scale (-85%), followed by the populations of terrestrial (69%) and marine species (56%).

In its report, the WWF particularly warns against “tipping points”. The latter occur when, reaching a certain threshold of degradation of an ecosystem, “Change is self-reinforcing, causing considerable upheaval, often brutal and potentially irreversible.” A risk illustrated by the situation of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, threatened by warming ocean temperatures.

Its population of hawksbill turtles, a crucial sponge-eating species, helps maintain this unique structure in the world. However, it could become extinct as early as 2036, warns the NGO, which recalls the precious services provided by corals: throughout the world, “About 330 million people directly depend on reefs for protection from storms, food and other livelihoods and benefits”points out the WWF.

One billion people depend directly or indirectly on the global net economic value of coral reefs.

The WWF

in its Living Planet report

Likewise, if the Amazon rainforest reached its tipping point, “The impacts would not only be devastating to local communities, but also to the world’s climate and food supply, affecting societies and economies in every corner of the globe.”warns the NGO.

Tipping points also exist at the local level. In Gabon, the decline of African forest elephants, linked in particular to poaching, increased, going from 78 to 81% between 2004 and 2014. If “Scientists consider a loss of this magnitude to be extremely worrying for the future of the species”Véronique Andrieux, general director of WWF France, recalls that we all benefit from the contribution of these “umbrella species”.

By feeding on trees with low wood density, this elephant allows larger trees that are more capable of storing carbon to develop, playing “a role as an architect and forest landscaper”, fully invested in the fight against global warming.

Faced with this observation, Véronique Andrieux, cited in the report, calls for “act massively and immediately to protect what can still be protected and restore what has already been damaged.” Restoration of wetlands, reintroduction of species, creation of protected areas managed by indigenous populations… The solutions exist. In Europe, bison and the Dalmatian pelican have benefited, the report notes. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a population of gorillas monitored by the NGO saw its number increase by 3% per year between 2010 and 2016 thanks to the efforts of locals.

But protected areas have had varying success, and currently cover only 16% of the planet’s land and 8% of its oceans, compared to a target of 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems by 2030, under the Framework. World Biodiversity Framework of Kunming-Montreal (CMB) adopted in 2022.

Also, the fight against greenhouse gas emissions cannot be done to the detriment of the protection of biodiversity, insists the report, which challenges the world to “simultaneously address the drivers of climate change and nature loss by transforming our energy, food and financial systems in a coordinated manner.”

Protecting biodiversity and ecosystems can help mitigate climate change by preserving carbon sinks, such as forests and wetlands.

The WWF

in its Living Planet report

“Similarly, efforts to mitigate climate change, such as reducing deforestation and promoting reforestation, can also contribute to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem resilience,” continues the NGO.

Finally, recalling that the degradation of habitats linked to agriculture constitutes the main threat to ecosystems, the report recalls that “despite record production, some 735 million people go to bed hungry every night.” “Paradoxically, our food system compromises our current and future ability to feed humans. This is absolute nonsense“, he criticizes, pleading for agricultural and food practices that are more respectful of the environment (agroforestry, limitation of inputs, less meat-based diets, etc.).

Evidence for the NGO, whose manager in France is alerted: “While it is more than urgent to fundamentally transform our production and consumption model, we are witnessing, incredulously, the unraveling of the advances obtained in Europe and in France”deplores Véronique Andrieux. “At a time when the budget should reflect courageous choices, despite the costed proposals from the WWF to stop subsidies harmful to nature and encourage viable alternatives, the State persists in spending poorly and collecting poorly,” she denounces. “As if, when faced with a fire, we chose to throw oil rather than water.”