DISAPPEARING WILDLIFE

Wildlife Numbers Drop by Half Since 1970, Report Says; Analysis by WWF and Others Was Based on Thousands of Species in Rivers, on Land and at Sea

Gautam Naik, Sept. 30, 2014 (Wall Street Journal)

“Earth lost half its wildlife in the past four decades…a far larger decline than previously reported [according to the WWF’s Living Planet 2014]…Based on an analysis of thousands of vertebrate species, it concludes that overall animal populations fell 52% between 1970 and 2010…The decline was seen everywhere—in rivers, on land and in the seas—and is mainly the result of increased habitat destruction, commercial fishing and hunting…Climate change also is believed to be a factor, though its consequences are harder to measure…The previous WWF report analyzing animal populations, published in 2012, suggested a decline of 28% over a similar period. The latest report uses 15% more data than the previous one, is more representative of tropical species and applies an improved methodology…The fastest declines were seen in rivers and other freshwaters systems, where populations fell 76% since 1970. By comparison, terrestrial and marine populations each fell 39%. While biodiversity continues to decline in both temperate and tropical parts of the world, the downward trend is greater in the tropics…” click here for more

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