24 Oct
2006 - Beijing, China/Gland, Switzerland – The
world’s natural ecosystems are being degraded
at a rate unprecedented in human history, according
to a report released today by WWF, the global
conservation organization.
WWF’s 2006 Living Planet Report,
the group’s biennial statement on the state of
the natural world, says that on current projections
humanity will be using two planets’ worth of natural
resources by 2050 — if those resources have not
run out by then. It also confirms the trend of
biodiversity loss seen in previous Living Planet
reports.
Already resources are depleting,
with the report showing that vertebrate species
populations have declined by about one-third in
the 33 years from 1970 to 2003. At the same time,
humanity’s Ecological Footprint — the demand people
place upon the natural world — has increased to
the point where the Earth is unable to keep up
in the struggle to regenerate.
"We are in serious ecological
overshoot, consuming resources faster than the
Earth can replace them," WWF International’s
Director General James Leape said. “The consequences
of this are predictable and dire."
"It is time to make some
vital choices," he added. "Change that
improves living standards while reducing our impact
on the natural world will not be easy. The cities,
power plants and homes we build today will either
lock society into damaging over-consumption beyond
our lifetimes, or begin to propel this and future
generations towards sustainable living.”
The Living Planet Report, launched
in Beijing, China, pulls together various data
to compile two indicators of the Earth’s well-being.
The first, the Living Planet
Index, measures biodiversity, based on trends
in more than 3,600 populations of 1,300 vertebrate
species around the world. In all, data for 695
terrestrial, 344 freshwater and 274 marine species
were analyzed. Terrestrial species declined by
31 per cent, freshwater species by 28 per cent,
and marine species by 27 per cent.
The second index, the Ecological
Footprint, measures humanity’s demand on the biosphere.
Humanity’s footprint has more than tripled between
1961 and 2003. This report shows that our footprint
exceeded biocapacity by 25 per cent in 2003. In
the previous report (based on data to 2001), this
figure was 21 per cent. The carbon dioxide footprint,
from the use of fossil fuels, was the fastest
growing component of our global footprint, increasing
more than ninefold from 1961 to 2003.
Countries of over a million
people with the largest footprint, in global hectares
per person, are the United Arab Emirates, the
United States of America, Finland, Canada, Kuwait,
Australia, Estonia, Sweden, New Zealand and Norway.
China comes mid-way in world rankings, at number
69, but its growing economy and rapid development
mean it has a key role in keeping the world on
the path to sustainability.
Tan Rui, Communications Officer
WWF China
Moira O’Brien-Malone, Head of
Press
WWF International
