WWF: World has lost more than half its wildlife in 40 years

 

London (CNN) -- The world's animal population has halved in 40 years as humans put unsustainable demands on Earth, a new report warns.

The South China tiger is considered "functionally extinct,"

as it has not been sighted in the wild for more than

25 years.

The World Wide Fund for Nature's Living Planet Index, released Tuesday, revealed the dramatic decline in animal species, and said the trend could cost the world billions in economic losses.

Humans need one and a half Earths to sustain their current demands, it said.

 

 

The index, which draws on research around WWF's database of 3,000 animal species, is released every two years. This year's has the starkest warning yet of the risks associated with the decline of wildlife.

 

The population of Yangtze finless porpoises is declining rapidly. The freshwater dolphins are suffering due to pollution and hunting.

 

 

The fund notes that it's relying on a never-before-used methodology in this year's report, "which aims to be more representative of global biodiversity."

 

The index showed shows a 52% decline in wildlife between 1970 and 2010, far more than earlier estimates of 30%. It is due to people killing too many animals for food and destroying their habitats.

 

"We are eating into our natural capital, making it more difficult to sustain the needs of future generations," the report said.

 

Researchers from the Zoological Society of London looked at changes in populations of more than 3,000 species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, tracking over 10,000 different populations.

 

The decline in animals living in rivers, lakes and wetlands is the worst -- 76% of freshwater wildlife disappeared in just 40 years. Marine species and animals living on land suffered 39% decline in their populations.

 

Animals living in tropics are the worst hit by what WWF calls "the biggest recorded threats to our planet's wildlife" as 63% of wildlife living in tropics has vanished. Central and South America shows the most dramatic regional decline, with a fall of 83%.

 

And while the animals are suffering now, the long-term impact will be on people, the report said.

Marco Lambertini, director general of WWF International, said "protecting nature is not a luxury....it is quite the opposite. For many of the world's poorest people, it is a lifeline."

 

According to Lambertini, the threat to oceans could create economic losses of up to $428 billion by 2050. The global fishing sector employs more than 660 million people, and fish provide more than 15% of protein in people's diet.

 

Global food security is under threat as the demands of growing population drain the resources. Forests provide water, fuel and food for more than billion people, including 350 million of the world's poorest people.

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FELLOW HUMANS:  This is dire!  A recommendation:

FOR ONE DAY (per week, per month?), each individual, each company can STOP! 

STOP POLLUTING, POACHING, PRODUCING, CONSUMING (PPPC) if we care.  If we don't...

 WWF Species Directory

Common name	Scientific name	Conservation status ↓
Amur Leopard	Panthera pardus orientalis	Critically Endangered
Black Rhino	Diceros bicornis	Critically Endangered
Cross River Gorilla	Gorilla gorilla diehli	Critically Endangered
Hawksbill Turtle	Eretmochelys imbricata	Critically Endangered
Javan Rhino	Rhinoceros sondaicus	Critically Endangered
Leatherback Turtle	Dermochelys coriacea	Critically Endangered
Mountain Gorilla	Gorilla beringei beringei	Critically Endangered
Saola	Pseudoryx nghetinhensis	Critically Endangered
South China Tiger	Panthera tigris amoyensis	Critically Endangered
Sumatran Elephant	Elephas maximus sumatranus	Critically Endangered
Sumatran Orangutan	Pongo abelii	Critically Endangered
Sumatran Rhino	Dicerorhinus sumatrensis	Critically Endangered
Sumatran Tiger	Panthera tigris sumatrae	Critically Endangered
Vaquita	Phocoena sinus	Critically Endangered
Western Lowland Gorilla	Gorilla gorilla gorilla	Critically Endangered
Yangtze Finless Porpoise	Neophocaena asiaeorientalis ssp. asiaeorientalis	Critically Endangered
African Wild Dog	Lycaon pictus	Endangered
Amur Tiger	Panthera tigris altaica	Endangered
Asian Elephant	Elephas maximus indicus	Endangered
Bengal Tiger	Panthera tigris tigris	Endangered
Black Spider Monkey	Ateles paniscus	Endangered
Black-footed Ferret	Mustela nigripes	Endangered
Blue Whale	Balaenoptera musculus	Endangered
Bluefin Tuna	Thunnus spp	Endangered
Bonobo	Pan paniscus	Endangered
Bornean Orangutan	Pongo pygmaeus	Endangered
Borneo Pygmy Elephant	Elephas maximus borneensis	Endangered
Chimpanzee	Pan troglodytes	Endangered
Eastern Lowland Gorilla	Gorilla beringei graueri	Endangered
Fin Whale	Balaenoptera physalus	Endangered
Galápagos Penguin	Spheniscus mendiculus	Endangered
Ganges River Dolphin	Platanista gangetica gangetica	Endangered
Giant Panda	Ailuropoda melanoleuca	Endangered
Green Turtle	Chelonia mydas	Endangered
Hector's Dolphin	Cephalorhynchus hectori	Endangered
Humphead Wrasse	Cheilinus undulatus	Endangered
Indian Elephant	Elephas maximus indicus	Endangered
Indochinese Tiger	Panthera tigris corbetti	Endangered
Indus River Dolphin	Platanista minor	Endangered
Loggerhead Turtle	Caretta caretta	Endangered
Malayan Tiger	Panthera tigris jacksoni	Endangered
North Atlantic Right Whale	Eubalaena glacialis	Endangered
Orangutan	Pongo abelii, Pongo pygmaeus	Endangered
Sea Lions	Zalophus wollebaeki	Endangered
Sei Whale	Balaenoptera borealis	Endangered
Snow Leopard	Panthera uncia	Endangered
Sri Lankan Elephant	Elephas maximus maximus	Endangered
Tiger		Endangered
Whale	Balaenoptera, Balaena, Eschrichtius, and Eubalaen	Endangered
African Elephant	Loxodonta africana	Vulnerable

 

 

Bigeye Tuna	Thunnus obesus	Vulnerable
Dugong	Dugong dugon	Vulnerable
Forest Elephant		Vulnerable
Giant Tortoise		Vulnerable
Great White Shark	Carcharodon carcharias	Vulnerable
Greater One-Horned Rhino	Rhinoceros unicornis	Vulnerable
Irrawaddy Dolphin	Orcaella brevirostris	Vulnerable
Marine Iguana	Amblyrhynchus cristatus	Vulnerable
Olive Ridley Turtle	Lepidochelys olivacea	Vulnerable
Polar Bear	Ursus maritimus	Vulnerable
Red Panda	Ailurus fulgens	Vulnerable
Savanna Elephant	Loxodonta africana Africana	Vulnerable
Southern rockhopper penguin	Eudyptes chrysocome	Vulnerable
Whale Shark	Rhincodon typus	Vulnerable
Albacore Tuna	Thunnus alalunga	Near Threatened
Beluga	Delphinapterus leucas	Near Threatened
Greater Sage-Grouse	Centrocercus urophasianus	Near Threatened
Jaguar	Panthera onca	Near Threatened
Monarch Butterfly	Danaus plexippus	Near Threatened
Mountain Plover	Charadrius montanus	Near Threatened
Narwhal	Monodon monoceros	Near Threatened
Plains Bison	Bison bison bison	Near Threatened
White Rhino	Ceratotherium simum	Near Threatened
Yellowfin Tuna	Thunnus albacares	Near Threatened

...and HUMANS!