Wildlife numbers have plunged by more than half in just 40 years as Earth’s human population has nearly doubled, a survey of more than 3,000 vertebrate species revealed yesterday.
From 1970 to 2010, there was a 39 percent drop in numbers across a representative sample of land and sea-dwelling species, while freshwater populations declined 76 percent, environmental group WWF said in its Living Planet Report this year.
Extrapolating from these figures, “the number of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish across the globe is, on average, about half the size it was 40 years ago,” it said.
The 52 percent decrease confirmed mankind was chomping through nature’s bounty much faster than the rate of replenishment, the WWF said.
The previous Living Planet Report , in 2012, found a 28 percent drop in numbers from 1970 to 2008, but that was based on only 2,688 monitored species.
The new report tracks the growth or decline of more than 10,000 populations of 3,038 species, ranging from forest elephants to sharks, turtles and albatrosses.
It stressed that humans were consuming natural resources at a rate that would require 1.5 Earths to sustain — cutting down trees faster than they mature and harvesting more fish than oceans can replace.
“We are using nature’s gifts as if we had more than just one Earth at our disposal,” WWF director-general Marco Lambertini said in the foreword to the biennial publication. “By taking more from our ecosystems and natural processes than can be replenished, we are jeopardizing our very future.”
While agricultural yield per hectare has improved through better farming and irrigation methods, the sheer human population explosion has reduced per capita “biocapacity,” or available life-sustaining land.
Human population numbers shot up from about 3.7 billion to nearly 7 billion from 1970 to 2010.
“So while biocapacity has increased globally, there is now less of it to go around,” the report said.
It warned, “with the world population projected to reach 9.6 billion by 2050 and 11 billion by 2100, the amount of biocapacity available for each of us will shrink further.”
The survey highlighted differences between nations and regions in consumption and biodiversity loss.
“Low-income countries have the smallest footprint, but suffer the greatest ecosystem losses,” it said.
The wildlife decline was worst in the tropics, with a 56 percent drop.
Latin America suffered the most drastic losses, with an overall decline of 83 percent.
There were also vast differences in nations’ “ecological footprints” — the mark their consumption leaves on the planet, measured per capita.
The people of Kuwait had the biggest overall footprint, followed in the top 10 by Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago, Singapore, the US, Bahrain and Sweden.
Rich countries’ biggest mark was in carbon emissions, while the impact of poor countries, at the tail end of the list, was mainly in consumption of land and forest products.
“If all people on the planet had the footprint of the average resident of Qatar, we would need 4.8 planets,” the report said.
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from