World's wildlife populations decline by more than two-thirds since 1970: WWF

The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has said that the world's wildlife populations have declined by more than two-thirds since 1970 as forests have been cleared and oceans polluted.

According to the WWF and Zoological Society of London’s (ZSL) biennial Living Planet Report 2022,  Earth’s wildlife populations have plunged by an average of 69 per cent in the last 50 years.

The report used 2018 data from ZSL on the status of 32,000 wildlife populations covering more than 5,000 species.

It said that Latin America and the



Caribbean region including the Amazon has seen the steepest decline in average wildlife population size with a 94 per cent drop.

According to the report, Africa had the second largest fall at 66 per cent, followed by Asia and the Pacific with 55 per cent and North America at 20 per cent.

Europe and Central Asia experienced an 18 per cent fall.

The report said that Deforestation, human exploitation, pollution, and climate change were the biggest drivers of the population loss.