Global Wildlife Populations Declined by 73% in 50 Years

Amy Stanton
1 day ago
6 min read

Jonny Rogers examines the drastic global decline in wildlife populations, analysing human-driven causes, regional variations, and strategies for ecological restoration.

Photo by: Philipp Pilz

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An extensive report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) found that monitored global wildlife populations have shrunk by 73% since 1970 due to human activity and anthropogenic climate change.

Tracking 35,000 population trends across 5,495 species of amphibians, birds, fish, mammals, and reptiles, the Living Planet Report 2024 underlines the importance of urgent and coherent global cooperation to tackle the threat of extinction, ecosystem collapse, and ecological ‘tipping points’.

If an ecosystem reaches a tipping point, the changes become self-perpetuating, often with far greater consequences for the whole planet: the mass die-off of coral reefs, for example, would destroy fisheries and reduce storm protection for coastal areas in Oceania; the continued loss of the Amazon rainforest would release tonnes of CO2 and disrupt global weather patterns; and the melting of subpolar icecaps of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets would cause sea levels to rise across the world.

As Kirsten Schujit, Director General of WWF says: “From the food and water we eat and drink, to the quality of the air we breathe, and the medicines we need: nature is our life support system.”

Did you know? Around 90% of all tropical deforestation is the result of converting forests into farmland, which accounts for a large part of the significant wildlife decline in Latin America and the Caribbean.

A Global Problem

The report found that freshwater animals are suffering the most, with an 85% decline in 50 years, though terrestrial populations have also declined by 69%, and marine populations have declined by 56%. These trends were observed across the globe presenting significant variation between regions: Latin America and the Caribbean were the most severely affected, with a 95% decline of all wildlife, followed by Africa (76%), Asia and the Pacific (60%), Europe and Central Asia (35%), and North America (39%).

However, this does not mean that wildlife populations in Europe, Central Asia, and North America are comparatively healthy, since declining populations may have already been apparent prior to 1970. The State of Nature report in 2023 found that nearly one in six wildlife species in Great Britain are threatened with extinction.

Furthermore, since Europe and Central Asia exceed their biocapacity—the land available to produce the natural resources consumed by respective populations—by the largest amount of any region, they are dependent on imported foods and resources from nature-rich regions across the world. As such, while the Living Planet Report reveals variation in wildlife populations across the globe, its findings highlight our shared obligation to encourage and support long-term sustainable practises, for the collective interests of humanity and wildlife alike.

Drivers of Change

The most significant driver of declining wildlife populations is habitat degradation and loss, which is caused primarily by our global food system. Around 40% of the earth’s habitable land—or ~4.2 billion hectares—is currently used to feed humans, of which 71% is used for livestock grazing. In addition, 460 million hectares are required to grow the crops used to feed livestock.

Around 90% of all tropical deforestation, due to converting forests into farmland, accounts for a large part of the wildlife decline in Latin America and the Caribbean. The reduction in wildlife poses a threat to agriculture—the near extinction of some pollinators risks 5-8% of global agricultural production, an annual loss of almost US$600 billion.

Residential and commercial development, logging, and other areas of construction also contribute significantly to habitat degradation and loss. A case study highlighted by the report is the Chinook salmon, which have seen an 88% decline in the Sacramento River, California; their migration impacted by the dams blocking access to their cold-water spawning habitat, forcing the Salmon into a small stretch of the river—itself subjected to low water levels and warmer temperatures.

Rising temperatures and changing climates are further impacting wildlife populations, even in uninhabited areas. Lower levels of sea ice cover in the Antarctic have reduced krill population, forcing Chinstrap penguins to spend more time foraging; as a result, their populations have declined by 61% in the past half-century. In the Great Barrier Reef, underwater heatwaves are causing large-scale coral bleaching, reducing the available food, shelter, and biodiversity for surrounding marine life.

Another significant driver of change is the overexploitation of wildlife populations. This may be a consequence of direct overexploitation, such as the African forest elephant in Gabon, which has seen a 78-81% decline due largely to poaching for the ivory trade or indirect exploitation such as the Amazon river dolphin, which have declined by 65% in 22 years, due in part to entanglement in fishing nets.

The report also recognises that invasive species, diseases, and pollution play a significant role in declining wildlife populations. In most cases, however, declining populations are not the result of any one cause but are mutually influenced and reinforced by a variety of anthropogenic factors.

As Kirsten Schujit, Director General of WWF says: “From the food and water we eat and drink, to the quality of the air we breathe, and the medicines we need: nature is our life support system.”

Steps Towards Recovery

Despite the global decline in wildlife, some conservation and species reintroduction projects have worked against the trend and successfully improved biodiversity: European bison, which became extinct in the wild in 1927, have now risen to a population of nearly 7,000 in 70 years; and populations of mountain gorillas have seen a 3% increase per year in the East African Virunga Mountains due to conservation interventions, making it the only great ape that is not in steep decline. Protected areas currently cover almost 18% of the earth’s land and 8% of its oceans, playing an invaluable role in maintaining traditional conservation efforts – and offering a model for future projects.

Most economically developed countries, the report suggests, should consume a greater proportion of plant-based foods to reduce the quantity of land and water required for livestock feeding and farming. However, we must also prioritise food security and nutrition for all people, recognising that animal products may be beneficial and necessary in many places.

Healthy food systems are not only essential for the wellbeing of human and wildlife populations, but would also alleviate other burdens on the global economy: the cost of poor health and environmental degradation due to agriculture comes to over US$10 trillion each year, while obesity rates continue to rise across the world, over 700 million people still face starvation—and up to 40% of all food produced is never eaten.

The global energy system is the primary direct cause of climate change, with fossil fuels accounting for around 70% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and air pollution accounting for around 1-in-5 human deaths each year. The next five years must see the phasing out of fossil fuels and tripling of renewable energy by 2030 in order to achieve the IPCC targets and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. Recent years have, however, seen a doubling in the global capacity for renewable energy, while costs for wind, solar, and batteries continue to fall by up to 85%.

These changes cannot occur without heavy financial investment, redirecting the economy from its present dependence on harmful processes to supporting sustainable business models and conservation projects. Currently, over half of global GDP—US$58 trillion—is either moderately or highly dependent on nature, while only US$200 billion is currently spent on nature-based solutions to the climate crisis. The transition to a sustainable food system will require an increase of US$390-455 billion annual spending, which is still less than governments are currently spending on environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies.

The Road Forward

The security of our future depends on the survival of healthy ecosystems today. While the Living Planet Report offers only a partial picture of the natural world—vertebrate species account for only 5% of all known living animal species, not accounting for plants— but it is still an expansive one.

The rapid decline of wildlife populations over the past 50 years is an alarming indication of the direction and consequence of a short-sighted and unsustainable global economy. However, the reintroduction of European bison following their extinction in the wild around 100 years ago shows that decline is not always irreversible, nor inevitable.

While a revolution in nature conservation, agriculture, and energy production will require significant financial investment, an eco-conscious transition would further reduce the burden of unhealthy diets, air pollution, extreme weather events, and climate change on our national and international economies.

As María Susana Muhamad González, the former Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development for Colombia concludes:

“Addressing these global challenges requires us to strengthen our response. We need to increase transnational efforts, to have a different perspective and a different vision. […] The world must move towards a just transition that revives life and systematically restores what we have degraded.”