Planet Earth is suffering such a rapid loss of its natural resources - its biodiversity - that we are now eating into its capital stocks of forest, fish and fertile soil. That is the stark reality laid out in the latest Living Planet Report, WWF's periodic update on the state of the world's ecosystems, published today.
"In other words," declared Jonathan Loh, the report's author, "humanity now exceeds the planet's capacity to sustain its consumption of renewable resources."
The report is based on WWF's Living Planet Index, which tracks trends in populations of hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. It reveals that since 1970, populations of the world's forest species declined by some 15 per cent, marine species populations by 35 per cent and freshwater species populations by a particularly alarming 54 per cent.
Published just weeks before political leaders gather in Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the report is "the clearest wake-up call there could possibly be", said Dr Claude Martin, International Director General of WWF. "The fact that we live on a bountiful planet, but not a limitless one, presents world leaders with a clear challenge. If we do nothing to reverse the trends revealed in the report, standards of living and human development will start to plummet throughout the world by 2030."
"In other words," declared Jonathan Loh, the report's author, "humanity now exceeds the planet's capacity to sustain its consumption of renewable resources."
The report is based on WWF's Living Planet Index, which tracks trends in populations of hundreds of species of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish. It reveals that since 1970, populations of the world's forest species declined by some 15 per cent, marine species populations by 35 per cent and freshwater species populations by a particularly alarming 54 per cent.
Published just weeks before political leaders gather in Johannesburg for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the report is "the clearest wake-up call there could possibly be", said Dr Claude Martin, International Director General of WWF. "The fact that we live on a bountiful planet, but not a limitless one, presents world leaders with a clear challenge. If we do nothing to reverse the trends revealed in the report, standards of living and human development will start to plummet throughout the world by 2030."