Wildlife Populations Have Shrunk 73% Since 1970. A New Report Argues There Is Still a Case for Hope
The report says habitat loss and overexploitation remain the main threats, even as conservation has helped some species recover.
- The 2026 Living Planet Report, subtitled "The Science of Hope," reveals monitored wildlife populations have plummeted 73% since 1970, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
- Agriculture remains the primary driver of habitat loss, while about $7.3 trillion flowed into nature-harming activities in 2023, compared with $220 billion for protective efforts.
- Conservation efforts have yielded successes, including moving green sea turtles to "least concern" status in 2025 after 50 years of work across 80 nesting countries, alongside tiger and bluefin tuna recoveries.
- WWF chief scientist Dr. Rebecca Shaw argued that specific recoveries prove "conservation works," while researchers at the University of Exeter suggest systems can reach "positive tipping points" where shifts become cheaper and self-reinforcing.
- The report arrives weeks before United Nations summits: the biodiversity conference COP17 runs October 19 to 30 in Yerevan, Armenia, followed by climate conference COP31 from November 9 to 20 in Antalya, Turkey.
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Average 73% decline in wildlife population sizes between 1970 and 2022: WWF report
There has beena 73% decline in the average population sizes of monitored vertebrates — mammals, fish, birds and amphibians — over 52 years between 1970 and 2022, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) biennial Living Planet Report, 2026.
Wild animals worldwide are under pressure, their stocks have been declining for decades. Human beings are responsible for this - but they can also do something.
While the size of the animal populations studied decreased by 73% between 1970 and 2022, 50% of them are stable or increasing, relativizes the NGO, which publishes its report "Living Planet" on Thursday.
WWF's Planet Vivo 2026 Report maintains alarming value, but points out for the first time concrete recovery cases. Tigre has gone from 3,200 to 5,700 copies since 2010.
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