Living Planet Report
Also called: Living Planet Index · Topic: Biodiversity and its Conservation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
The Living Planet Report is published by WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature). It tracks how the sizes of monitored vertebrate populations (mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians) change over time. Its measure, the Living Planet Index, shows the average change across these populations. It is a warning signal for the health of nature.
Example
The 2024 report found that monitored vertebrate populations fell by an average of 73% between 1970 and 2020. The fall was 95% in Latin America and 85% in freshwater ecosystems.
Don't confuse with
- IUCN Red List: rates the extinction risk of each species. The Living Planet Report measures the average change in population size.
- The 73% figure is an average fall in population size. It does not mean that 73% of all animals or species have been lost.
Related concepts
- Loss of biodiversity
- Habitat loss
- Exotic species
- Invasive alien species
- Poaching
- Overfishing
- Extinction
- IPBES