LIVING PLANET REPORT
Since 1998, WWF’s Living Planet Report has been tracking the state of nature globally.
We’re all connected
The Living Planet Report, now in its 15th edition, is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.
It’s based on the Living Planet Index (LPI), which tracks almost 35,000 population trends of 5,495 species from 1970-2020.
Key findings from WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024 include:
- a catastrophic 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations over just 50 years (1970-2020).
- Australian results which contributed to this alarming figure include declines in a population of mountain pygmy-possums at Mont Higginbotham in Victoria and the hawksbill turtles which nest on Milman Island in the Great Barrier Reef.
- Regionally, the steepest declines in monitored wildlife populations were recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (-95%), Africa (-76%) and Asia–Pacific (-60%)
- Declines in wildlife populations can act as early warning indicators of increasing extinction risk and the potential loss of healthy ecosystems.
- The dual crises of nature loss and climate change are pushing the planet closer to dangerous and irreversible tipping points.
- Global tipping points such as the dieback of the Amazon rainforest and the mass die-off of coral reefs, including the Great Barrier Reef, would create shockwaves far beyond the immediate area impacting food security and livelihoods.
- The next five years will be crucial for the future of life on Earth but there is hope: we can restore our living planet if we act now.
- The Living Planet Report 2024 presents solutions to transform conservation and the energy, food and financial systems in a fair and inclusive way.
- Locally, the Australian government needs to act quickly to improve national environmental laws and keep its promises to protect nature on a global level.
Downloadable assets
Now is the time for a Nature Positive future
The 2024 Living Planet Report has revealed that our natural world is in crisis. We are witnessing the devastating loss of nature and biodiversity at an unprecedented rate, and the consequences are far-reaching. But there is still time to turn things around. At WWF-Australia, we believe in a Nature Positive future - where we halt and reverse nature loss by 2030, leading to full recovery by 2050. This means a thriving natural world with clean air, fresh water and a stable climate for all.
Now is the time to call for bold action and leadership from businesses and government - our planet depends on it.
Toward a resilient future
If humans can change the planet so profoundly, then it’s also in our power to put things right. That will require new ways of thinking, smarter production methods, wiser consumption and new finance and governance systems. WWF’s Living Planet Report provides possible solutions – including the fundamental changes required in the global food, energy and finance systems to meet the needs of current and future generations.
Did you know?
Over the last 100 years, humans have played an important role in changing the Earth's ecosystems. To mark this new era in Earth's history, experts introduced the 'Anthropocene', the Age of Humans.
