WWF: Average wildlife populations have fallen 73 per cent in 50 years

Stuart Stone
clock • 6 min read
Credit: iStock
Image:

Credit: iStock

Living Planet Report details catastrophic human impact on wildlife numbers and warns next five years could determine future of life on Earth

Global wildlife populations suffered a catastrophic average decline of 73 per cent between 1970 and 2020, according to the latest edition of the Living Planet Index published today as part of WWF's biennial...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Biodiversity

How Ponda is using wetland restoration to create biomaterials for clothing

How Ponda is using wetland restoration to create biomaterials for clothing

Julian Ellis-Brown, co-founder and CEO of Ponda, explains how climate innovation sits at the intersection of science, policy, and commercial reality, and why progress depends on aligning those forces

Stuart Stone
clock 16 February 2026 • 5 min read
Businesses urged to align decision-making with 'environmental reality'

Businesses urged to align decision-making with 'environmental reality'

Business leaders face calls to respond to escalating nature-related risks revealed by landmark report from the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Stuart Stone
clock 10 February 2026 • 4 min read
'Scientific reality check': Businesses warned they 'risk extinction' as nature loss accelerates

'Scientific reality check': Businesses warned they 'risk extinction' as nature loss accelerates

Landmark report from Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services warns continued failure to account for nature-related risks threatens catastrophic economic fallout

James Murray
clock 09 February 2026 • 6 min read