Report: Wildlife populations dropped by half in 40 years

The world has lost about 52 percent of its mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish in the last 40 years, a wildlife advocacy group reported.

The World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Tuesday report paints the bleakest picture yet from the group’s research. The last Living Planet Report from WWF two years ago estimated a 28 percent loss.

{mosads}Tuesday’s report also found that humans need 50 percent more natural resources than the Earth contains, cutting down more trees, taking more groundwater and emitting more carbon dioxide than the planet can handle.

“We’re gradually destroying our planet’s ability to support our way of life,” Carter Roberts, president of WWF, said in a statement.

“But we already have the knowledge and tools to avoid the worst predictions. We all live on a finite planet and its time we started acting within those limits,” he said.

The biggest declines in vertebrate populations in Latin America, which saw an 83 percent drop in populations.

Worldwide, 39 percent of terrestrial and marine wildlife and 76 percent of freshwater species gone in the last four decades, WWF found.

The group said the report shows the urgent need to shift to more environmentally friendly food and energy production, reduce ecological footprints through more responsible consumption and prioritize the value of nature in policy and development decisions.