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Researchers have studied thousands of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, reptiles, and fish around the world.
Now, the World Wildlife Fund’s “Living Planet” report shows that the wild vertebrate population declined dramatically between 1970 and 2016, by 68 percent on average.
It’s a “terrifying read,” according to WWF.
– We are now in an emergency situation and on the way to the sixth mass extinction, says Louise Carlsson, biologist and nature conservation expert from WWF to DN.
Decreased by 94 percent
The most recent mass extinction occurred 65.5 million years ago. Then the dinosaurs were exterminated by a large asteroid. Now, instead, it is man who is the cause.
The researchers examined more than 20,000 populations and more than 4,000 species, and animals in the tropics are most at risk, according to the index developed by researchers at the Zoological Society of London.
In South America, Central America and the Caribbean, the largest population declines have been observed, with a decline of nearly 94 percent since the 1970s. WWF calls this a “huge” population decline. Among the most threatened animals are reptiles, amphibians and fish that live in fresh water.
– We destroy our world, what we call home, and risk our own health, safety and survival here on earth. Nature sends a desperate SOS and time is running out, Tanya Steel tells the BBC about the British WWF.
The man is behind
In Europe and Central Asia, animals declined by an average of 24 percent, 33 percent in North America, and 45 percent in Asia.
– The biggest negative impact is habitat loss, such as deforestation and large-scale land conversion for agriculture, says Håkan Wirtén, Swedish WWF Secretary General.
What has been studied shows the plight of vertebrates, which account for about three percent of all wildlife, but many of those populations are still unknown to humans. These are invertebrates like worms and snails.
– What we see is probably just the tip of an iceberg. Many are of enormous importance to ecosystem functions and services. We cannot live without them, says Håkan Wirtén in the report.
