Global wildlife population has fallen by 58% since 1970 and could further decline by two-thirds by 2020, the living Planet Report released on Thursday stated. The report placed India fifth in terms of capacity to produce renewable resources and absorb spillover wastes like carbon dioxide.
The report noted that food production is primarily responsible for the destruction of habitats and over- exploitation of wildlife.”At present, agriculture occupies about one-third of the Earth’s total land area and accounts for almost 70 per cent of water use. While tracking over 14,000 vertebrate populations of over 3,700 species from 1970 to 2012, it provides additional evidence that the planet is entering a completely unchartered territory in history in which humanity is shaping changes on Earth, including “a possible sixth mass extinction”.
The top threats to species are directly linked to human activities, including habitat loss, degradation and over- exploitation of wildlife, the report said.
“This places the world on a trajectory of a potential two-thirds decline within a span of the half-century ending in 2020,” WWF's living Planet Report 2016 said while highlighting the magnitude of human impact on the planet and the changes needed in the way society is fed and fuelled.
The report said food production to meet demands of growing human population was the “primary” factor responsible for the destruction of habitats and over-exploitation of wildlife.