WWF: Wildlife populations have shrunk by 73% on average over 52 years
The latest Living Planet report finds that wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73% since 1970. Recoveries of some species, including tigers and green sea turtles, show that targeted conservation works.
Wildlife populations have fallen by 73% on average over 52 years, according to the Living Planet report from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The fund's communications head, Anda Boluža, shared the findings with the news agency LETA.
The index is compiled by the Zoological Society of London. It covers 5,790 vertebrate species and 35,803 populations, using data gathered over a long period at monitoring sites around the world. Although the overall trend is negative, a large share of the populations included have improved or remained stable.
Where the declines are steepest
The sharpest drops were recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean (95%) and Africa (80%), while in Europe and Central Asia the figure was 23%. By ecosystem, freshwater suffered the greatest loss (85%), followed by land (69%) and marine (59%).
Habitat loss or degradation is the threat most often affecting the observed species. Intensive resource use, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease also play a part. The report links these causes to the energy, food production and finance sectors: agriculture destroys habitats, fossil fuel use accelerates climate change, and finance channels funds to industries that harm the environment.
Signs of recovery
The report also highlights recoveries. The number of wild tigers rose by more than 70% between 2010 and 2025, from 3,200 to about 5,700. Bluefin tuna stocks recovered thanks to sustainable fishing methods, stricter quotas and monitoring. Some elephant populations in southern Africa are growing after new legislation involved local communities in conservation. In 2025, green sea turtles became the first sea turtles removed from the Red List of threatened species, after 50 years of coordinated work in 80 countries.
Systemic solutions needed
The report stresses that conservation alone is not enough; positive tipping points must be reached in energy, food and finance. Solar power is now the cheapest new source of electricity in most countries, but progress remains uneven.
WWF Latvia director Jānis Rozītis said that in Latvia nature can still be preserved or improved with relatively simpler solutions than those being applied or planned in many other places around the world.
