The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) conducted a global study and found that wild animal populations have declined by an average of 73% over the past 50 years. There it was called a "catastrophic" loss of species.
This is stated in the WWF wildlife report, which examines more than 5 000 populations of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles and fish.
From elephants in rainforests to hawksbill turtles off the Great Barrier Reef, populations are rapidly declining. Habitat loss puts many ecosystems on edge.
For example, 60% of Amazonʼs pink river dolphins have died out due to human activity. The reasons were pollution of the Amazon, mining and even civil unrest.
The biggest threats to wildlife are habitat degradation and loss, as well as overexploitation, invasive species, disease, climate change and pollution.
Biodiversity loss and climate change are rapidly pushing the world toward irreversible tipping points, including the potential "collapse" of the Amazon rainforest. If this happens, it will not be able to block the carbon that warms the planet and mitigate the effects of climate change.
At the same time, the WWF report recorded something encouraging — the subpopulation of mountain gorillas in the Virunga Mountains in East Africa increased by about 3% per year between 2010 and 2016. However, such a single success is not enough against the background of the widespread destruction of habitats.
The World Wide Fund for Nature has published a report ahead of the UN Conference on Biodiversity, which will discuss how to restore nature.
For more news and in-depth stories from Ukraine please follow us on X.