If we can just spurn the evidence of how biodiversity have changed around us, and how we have pushed some species to extinction, we are so much worse than we already think we are. There’s not a single thing that humans don’t stick their nose in.

The World Wildlife Fund’s Living Planet Report 2018 has released its latest document that provides a comprehensive view of the Earth’s health – and it’s depressing. Between 1970 and 2014, populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians have, on average, declined by 60 percent. This plunge in the size of populations of vertebrate animals is the result of human modification of natural landscapes and overexploitation, the report notes.

Earth Has Lost 60 Percent Of Its Wildlife In Just The Last 40 Years

“This report sounds a warning shot across our bow,” says Carter Roberts, president and CEO of WWF-US. “Natural systems essential to our survival—forests, oceans, and rivers—remain in decline. Wildlife around the world continue to dwindle. It reminds us we need to change course. It’s time to balance our consumption with the needs of nature, and to protect the only planet that is our home.”

Nature has its way to give us unprecedented ecological services like stabilizing the climate, safeguarding the ecosystem. But if we don’t have a control over what we are doing, and how we are using up natural resources, things will get a whole lot worse. It’s time for a change.

Source: Living Planet Report 2018; You can download the full report at WWF

Advertisement