This is a shocking statistic.
The
World Wildlife Fund have released their Living Planet Report, which has shown that the population of "vertebrate species" has more than halved in the past 40 years.
The report is described as a "comprehensive overview of the state of our natural world, twenty years after the flagship report was first published".
The report found that humans are largely to blame for this harrowing news.
It states that the biggest drivers of current biodiversity loss are overexploitation and agriculture, both of which are linked to continually increasing human consumption.
Speaking about the results of the report, Marco Lambertini, Director General of WWF International, had this to say:
"Science is showing us the harsh reality our forests, oceans and rivers are enduring at our hands"
"Inch by inch and species by species, shrinking wildlife numbers and wild places are an indicator of the tremendous impact and pressure we are exerting on the planet, undermining the very living fabric that sustains us all: nature and biodiversity."
Human activity was also blamed for the devastating effects that the Amazon has felt in recent years.
According to the report, 20% of the Amazon has disappeared in 50 years, while the earth is estimated to have lost about half of its shallow water corals in the past 30 years.
They finished the report with a desperate plea to the public to make some sort of change, saying: "WWF is calling on people, businesses and governments to mobilise and deliver on a comprehensive framework agreement for nature and people under the CBD, one that galvanizes public and private action to protect and restore global biodiversity and nature and bend the curve on the devastating trends highlighted in the report."
You can read the report in full
here.
