Many studieslook aheadto the time to come when assess humanity ’s encroachment on the environs , but harmonize to the World Wildlife Fund , plenty of wrong has already been inflicted . AsNewsweekreports , 60 percentage , on average , of the world ’s mammal , chick , fish , reptile , and amphibian population have been wipe out since 1970 .
Every two years , the WWF releases itsLiving major planet Report[PDF ] examining the state of life on Earth . After analyzing 16,704 population of 4005 craniate species , the organization cover that there ’s been far-flung decline across the world ’s ecosystems in recent decades . Freshwater wildlife was hit the hardest , with populations plummet by 83 percent between 1970 and 2014 . In terms of region , the " neotropical kingdom , " comprising Central and South America and the Caribbean , has seen some of the biggest changes . consort to the field of study , wildlife there has shrink by 89 percent .
The WWF points to human activity as the principal causal agent of the massive red ink of biodiversity in the past half - century . Some of the biggest threat let in disforestation , over - fishing , befoulment , and mood modification . If current trends remain , it could spell disaster , not just for the world ’s ecosystem , but for the human population that bet on them for their livelihoods .
Despite the dismal results of the subject , the WWF is n’t altogether pessimistic . The principal administrator for their UK branch , Tanya Steele , said in astatement , " We are the first coevals to have it off we are destroying our major planet and the last one that can do anything about it . " The report emphasized that the yr 2020 will present critical opportunities for planetary change , with world leaders review the forward motion of pacts like the Sustainable Development Goals , the Paris Climate Agreement , and the Convention on Biological Diversity .
[ h / tNewsweek ]
