GLOBAL WILDLIFE POPULATIONS FALL 73%

Rare possum in Victoria & Milman Island hawksbills contribute to decline

There has been a catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations in just 50 years, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature’s Living Planet Report (LPR) 2024.

This is based on trends recorded in almost 35,000 populations of 5,495 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish from 1970-2020.

Australian results which contributed to this alarming figure include declines in a population of mountain pygmy possums in Victoria and the hawksbill turtles which nest on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef. In the Asia Pacific region, there has been a substantial drop in Sumatran tiger numbers.

Also in the spotlight, repeated coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef and continuing deforestation of the Amazon. They indicate global tipping points are fast approaching that pose grave threats to humanity and most species. The report states:

… the mass die-off of coral reefswould destroy fisheries and storm protection for hundreds of millions of people living on the coasts. The Amazon rainforest tipping pointwould release tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere and disrupt weather patterns around the globe.

“Australia is experiencing declining wildlife populations, record temperatures, bleached coral, destroyed forests. Across the world ecosystems are suffering. Earth is sending out an SOS. Tackling the linked crises of nature loss and climate change requires a huge collective effort,” said Dermot O’Gorman, CEO of WWF-Australia.

That has been the focus of the first Global Nature Positive Summit which wraps up today (10 October) in Sydney. Nature Positive aims to stop and reverse nature loss by 2030, leading to a full recovery of nature by 2050.

“There is still time to turn things around. To play our part, the Australian government needs to act quickly to improve national environmental laws and keep its promises to protect nature on a global level. What happens over the next five years is crucial for our planet. So far there has been a lack of urgency, locally and globally,” Mr O’Gorman said.

Milman Island hawksbill turtles

There was an alarming 57% decline in the number of nesting female hawksbill turtles on Milman Island between 1990 and 2018 and scientists suggest this population could be locally extinct as early as by 2036.

But WWF is working with partners and governments to protect this critically endangered species through multiple projects. Hawksbills can travel thousands of kilometres. Satellite tracking reveals important foraging areas and migration paths that need protection.

Shellbank is building a database of sea turtle DNA and using a method for extracting DNA from harvested, bycaught and illegally traded turtles or turtle products to identify populations most at risk and help law enforcers protect impacted populations and target poaching hotspots. WWF also works to develop alternative livelihoods so people have the opportunity to become less dependent on turtle populations at risk of extinction.

“What keeps me hopeful is that there is a wonderful turtle community working tirelessly to protect hawksbills and other marine turtle species across the western pacific and across the globe,” said Dr Christine Madden, WWF’s Global Marine Turtle Conservation Lead.

Mountain pygmy-possum

Mountain pygmy-possums were believed extinct, known only from fossils, until a living specimen turned up in a ski lodge in Mt Hotham in 1966. There are perhaps fewer than 2000 left, restricted to alpine areas in New South Wales and Victoria where they hibernate beneath the snow during winter.

At a site on Mt Higginbotham, mountain pygmy-possum numbers have been recorded annually since 1982 – the longest small mammal study in Australia.

“The overall Mt Higginbotham population had a dramatic decline after 2009 and has remained at about half the pre-2009 levels ever since. Male numbers have been at their lowest on record for the last two years. It’s all very concerning,” said wildlife biologist Dean Heinze, who’s been working on mountain pygmy possums since 1992.

Females and males live separately with females occupying better habitat among boulder fields higher up the mountain. A busy road made it difficult for males to reach females during the mating season.

In 1985, Australia’s first wildlife tunnel was built under the road at Mt Higginbotham, supported by a WWF donation of $30,000. Genetic research in following years proved this intervention was a success with males using “the tunnel of love”. Now this population needs significant help once more.

“We don’t know all the reasons for the decline. Temperature fluctuations because of climate change may be waking them up more often during their hibernation, using up precious energy. Every solution is on the table, including improved feral predator control, restoring fringe areas and creating corridors to link up habitat patches, and possibly introducing males from another population to prevent genetic collapse,” said Dean Heinze, a member of La Trobe University’s Research Centre for Applied Alpine Ecology.

Sumatran Tiger

By analysing the loss of forest in Sumatra, scientists estimated the island-wide Sumatran Tiger population was 439 in 2008, and 393 in 2017, suggesting a 10% decrease, assuming that forest cover alone affected population size.

WWF is working to conserve tiger breeding and hunting grounds, restore forest, and using sensor cameras to estimate population size and identify wildlife corridors that need protection.