Living Planet Report 2026: monitored populations down 73% since 1970

The brief in 5 cards

1. Context1 / 5
   • The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) published the Living Planet Report 2026, "The Science of Hope", in October 2026.
   • Its Living Planet Index shows an average 73% decline in monitored vertebrate populations between 1970 and 2022, showing continued large-scale decline.
   • The report comes weeks before the biodiversity summit the 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in Yerevan, Armenia (19–30 October), and the climate summit the 31st Conference of the Parties (COP31) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Antalya, Turkey (9–20 November).
2. Key highlights2 / 5

   The table shows how the decline differs across habitats.

   Habitat	Average decline, 1970–2022
   Freshwater	85%
   Terrestrial	69%
   Marine	59%
   All monitored populations	73%

   • Coverage: 35,803 populations of 5,790 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
   • Asia-Pacific: Populations fell by an average of 49%.
   • Main threats: Habitat loss and degradation, followed by overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease.
   • Money flows: About $7.3 trillion went to activities harming nature in 2023, against about $220 billion for protecting or restoring it.
   • Signs of hope: Wild tigers rose from about 3,200 in 2010 to about 5,700 by 2025. The green sea turtle moved from Endangered to Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List in 2025.
3. Key concepts3 / 5

   1. What does “73% decline” mean?

   It describes the indexed average change in monitored vertebrate population sizes, not the share of all animals lost. Population trends are combined using geometric aggregation and weighting, rather than a simple arithmetic average of percentage declines. A 73% decline does not mean 73% of all wild animals have disappeared.

   2. Why can the index decline when many populations are stable?

   About half the tracked populations are stable or growing. Large declines elsewhere can still pull the combined index down.

   3. Who makes the index?

   The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) produces the Living Planet Index. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) publishes the Living Planet Report, usually every two years. The index uses 1970 as its baseline.

4. Note4 / 5

   India’s record and gaps

   • Gains. India estimated 3,682 tigers in 2022. India is also described as holding about 70% of the world’s wild tigers; the estimates have different reference years. It also counts over 3,300 greater one-horned rhinos, 891 Asiatic lions (2025) and 718 snow leopards. A survey estimated 6,324 Ganges river dolphins across 28 rivers.
   • Outside protected areas. Wildlife scientist Y.V. Jhala said India does well inside protected areas but lacks a strategy for species outside them, such as the Great Indian Bustard and Indian wolf.
   • Conflict. Wildlife experts warn that growing big-cat populations have contributed to human-wildlife conflict, which disproportionately affects poorer communities.
   • Beyond conservation. The assessment argues declines cannot be reversed by conservation alone. Food systems, energy and finance must also change.
5. Way forward5 / 5
   • Protect freshwater ecosystems, the most rapidly declining, through river flow and wetland protection.
   • Extend conservation beyond protected areas to grasslands, farmland and corridors.
   • Redirect harmful subsidies and finance towards nature-positive activities.
   • Reduce human-wildlife conflict with compensation, early warnings and community stewardship.
   • Meet global targets under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, including effectively conserving and managing at least 30% of terrestrial and inland-water areas, and marine and coastal areas, by 2030.

Swipe or use ← → to move between cards.