WWF: Wildlife populations have plummeted by 73% since 1970 ? DW ? 10
In some areas, the WWF's Living Planet report noted that wildlife populations had fallen by up to 95%. The Amazon rainforest is particularly vulnerable.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) published its latest Living Planet report on Thursday, showing that wild populations of animal species have plunged over 70% since 1970.
In some highly biodiverse areas, such as Latin America and the Caribbean, that number is closer to 95%.
"The picture we are painting is incredibly concerning," Kirsten Schuijt, director general of WWF International, told a press conference.
However, she noted, "the good news is, we are not past the point of no return," and highlighted major government and consumer pushes for increasing sustainability.
Amazon protection crucial to sustaining life
"This is not just about wildlife, it's about the essential ecosystems that sustain human life," added WWF Daudi Sumba, chief conservation officer.
"The changes could be irreversible, with devastating consequences for humanity," he said, citing deforestation in the Amazon, which could "shift this critical ecosystem from a carbon sink to a carbon source."
Indeed, the report warns that the Amazon rainforest, key to sustaining all life on Earth, is reaching a climate change and deforestation-induced "tipping point" that could leave the entire area as scrubland.
About 35,000 wild populations of some 5,000 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and fish were monitored for the report. On average, they saw a decline of about 73%, WWF said.
es/sms (AFP, dpa)
