POPULATIONS OF animal, bird and fish species have dropped by almost a third since 1970, conservationists warned yesterday.
The Living Planet Index, which tracks the fortunes of more than 1,400 species of fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, revealed numbers had declined by 27 per cent in the 35 years to 2005.
Particularly badly hit are marine species, including the swordfish, which plummeted by 28 per cent in the 10 years between 1995 and 2005, while ocean birds have seen numbers fall by 30 per cent since the mid 1990s.
The report by conservation charity WWF comes ahead of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity next week, which will discuss aims to achieve a “significant reduction” in the current rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.
The pledge was made by the world’s nations in 2002 “as a contribution to poverty alleviation and to the benefit of all life on Earth”.
The report said that despite the declines appearing to flatten off in recent years, it is “very unlikely” governments will meet the 2010 target. The index, which looks at species ranging from the Amur tiger and the chimpanzee to the polar bear and green turtle, has been adopted as one of the official indicators of whether the international community is halting biodiversity loss. Measurements of populations of 241 fish species, 83 amphibians, 40 reptiles, 811 birds and 302 mammals show that land-based creatures’ numbers dropped by a quarter between 1970 and 2005, and freshwater species fell by 29 per cent in the same period.
WWF, which manages the index with the Zoological Society of London, said the major causes of global declines were habitat destruction and trade in wildlife.
In the next 30 years, climate change is expected to become a significant threat to species, the conservation charity said.
The declines come at a time when humans are consuming ever more natural resources, and are now using 25 per cent more than the planet can replace.
Colin Butfield, head of campaigns at WWF-UK, said: “Biodiversity underpins the health of the planet and has a direct impact on all our lives so it is alarming that despite an increased awareness of environmental issues we continue to see a downward trend.” He urged the UK government to work to reverse the trend which in Britain sees people generating carbon emissions and consuming natural resources at such a rate that if everyone lived like Britons we would need three planets to sustain us.
The conservation charity also warned a failure to halt biodiversity loss would have negative impacts for human beings.
James Leape, WWF director general, said: “Reduced biodiversity means millions of people face a future where food supplies are more vulnerable to pests and disease and where water is in irregular or short supply.
“No one can escape the impact of biodiversity loss because reduced global diversity translates quite clearly into fewer new medicines, greater vulnerability to natural disasters and greater effects from global warming.” WWF wants to see governments at the convention in Bonn next week develop plans which work across environment, food, agriculture, water, finance and health to reduce biodiversity loss. – (PA)