Ever since its appearance on the planet, the presence of Homo sapiens has coincided with the disappearance of many animal species. With the exponential growth of the human population and with technological progress, which has made it possible to exercise dominion over other species in an ever more effective and scientific manner, this trend has grown out of all proportion and has led us to the current situation, in which a planet growing ever emptier is the result of the collapse of populations of numerous animal species. The situation, if anything, is even more serious than expected, at least according to the twelfth edition of the Living Planet report by the WWF.

The numbers behind the decline

The aim of the study, carried out with the support of more than fifty scientists and in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, was to assess the state of health of wildlife. The verdict is catastrophic: we would be responsible for the extinction of 60 per cent of populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. This hecatomb, according to the researchers, would have taken place in just forty-four years: between 1970 and 2014.

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If wildlife disappears, we're in trouble

To put the scale of the catastrophe into perspective, Mike Barrett, executive director of conservation at the WWF, offered a telling example. "If there were a 60 per cent decline in the human population, it would be equivalent to emptying North America, South America, Africa, Europe, China and Oceania." The authors of the study also stressed that the loss of wildlife, besides depriving us of its intrinsic wonder, poses a threat to our own species. Wildlife and ecosystems are, in fact, fundamental to human life. "Nature contributes to human wellbeing culturally and spiritually," commented Bob Watson, environmental scientist and chair of an intergovernmental panel on biodiversity, "it also provides us with food, clean water and energy, regulates the climate and mitigates pollution. The Living Planet report clearly demonstrates that human activities are destroying nature at an unacceptable rate, threatening the wellbeing of current and future generations."

How the Living Planet report works

To compile the report and monitor the decline of wildlife, scientists analysed data relating to 16,704 populations of vertebrates belonging to more than 4,000 species, highlighting the unsustainable impact of the human species. It is the first time in the history of the planet that an animal species has had a similar impact on ecosystems and is responsible for a mass extinction.

The causes of the slaughter

Wherever we look, the anthropogenic impact on nature is plain to see: three-quarters of land surfaces are profoundly affected by human activities. The main cause of wildlife loss is the destruction of natural habitats, above all to create agricultural land. There are, however, more direct causes too: over three hundred species of mammals are on the brink of extinction due to hunting, while the oceans, which once teemed with life and concealed gigantic creatures, are growing ever emptier as a result of industrial fishing and plastic pollution. Chemical pollution also threatens biodiversity; according to a recent study, at least half of all orca populations are destined to become extinct due to chemical pollutants in the oceans. Other causes include the introduction of non-native species and, at times, the consequent spread of invasive diseases. Amphibian populations across the globe, for example, are threatened by a chytrid fungus (as a result of which these ancient creatures are today the class of animals most at risk on the planet) which is thought to have spread through the exotic animal trade.

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The areas most at risk

The report found that the areas hardest hit by animal decline are Central America and South America, where vertebrate populations are said to have suffered a fall of as much as 89 per cent, primarily due to the felling of vast areas of forest rich in biodiversity. "It's a classic example of how the disappearance of wildlife is the result of our consumption of resources," said Mike Barrett, "since deforestation is driven by an ever-expanding agriculture that produces mainly soya, which is then exported to countries such as the United Kingdom to feed pigs and chickens." The most degraded habitats, meanwhile, are rivers and lakes, in which wild animal populations have declined by 83 per cent, partly due to the omnipresence of dams.

We can still save ourselves

Despite the catastrophic numbers, we can still reverse this trend and prevent the disappearance of many species without which the world would undoubtedly be a poorer place. Thanks to conservation efforts, for example, the number of Bengal tigers (Panthera tigris tigris) in Nepal has almost doubled in nine years, since 2016 the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) has no longer been classified as endangered, and the Apennine chamois (Rupicapra pyrenaica ornata), thanks to an extraordinary reintroduction project launched in 2010, has returned to populate its ancient territories in central Italy. Conservation alone, however, is not enough; the most urgent issue to address is our role as consumers. "We can no longer ignore the impact of current unsustainable production patterns and the wasteful lifestyles we lead," said the director general of WWF International, Marco Lambertini. The close link between the food system and the decline of animal populations is now undeniable; reducing meat consumption is the first indispensable step to take in order to halt the haemorrhage of wildlife.