WWF Report Flags 73% Drop in Wildlife Populations but Points to Signs of Recovery
WWF's Living Planet Report 2026 reveals a 73% average decline in monitored wildlife population sizes over the 52-year period from 1970 to 2022, with freshwater ecosystems recording the steepest losses at 85%, followed by terrestrial (-69%) and marine (-59%) environments. Africa has recorded an 80% decline since 1970 - second only to Latin America and the Caribbean (-95%) - underlining the acute pressure on the continent's natural systems. The Living Planet Index, compiled by the Zoological Society of London, tracks 35,803 population trends across 5,790 vertebrate species, with habitat loss and degradation, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species, and disease identified as the primary threats.
Despite the overall downward trend, the report highlights that half of monitored populations are stable or increasing, with recoveries recorded in green turtles, bluefin tuna, tigers, and southern African elephants demonstrating that sustained conservation intervention can deliver results. The report identifies the food, energy, and finance systems as the primary drivers of nature loss and argues that triggering positive tipping points within these systems can accelerate recovery - noting that solar energy has already crossed such a threshold. With the UN biodiversity COP17 opening on 19 October in Yerevan, Armenia, WWF is calling on governments to move from ambition to implementation under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Source: World Wildlife Fund (WWF)
