WWF report warns of rapid biodiversity loss, some experts question the findings

A new report from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) warns of an alarming decline in global biodiversity. However, some researchers are pushing back on the severity of its conclusions.

According to the WWF’s 2024 Living Planet Report, wildlife populations across the globe have experienced an average decline of 73% over the past 50 years, with the most dramatic losses occurring in Latin America and the Caribbean, where populations have reportedly dropped by 95%. The report, which tracks nearly 35,000 vertebrate species, suggests that many ecosystems are nearing critical tipping points.

“The Living Planet Report updates fifty-year trend lines of how much we’ve lost and tipping points that lie ahead,” WWF-US President and CEO Carter Roberts said in a statement. “It highlights the most powerful tools to stem the loss and match the scale of this slow-motion catastrophe. A wake-up call that we need to get going, and fast.”

These findings have faced scrutiny from others in the field, who argue that the WWF’s data may be overstated. A team at the Center for Theoretical Study in the Czech Republic raised concerns about the methodology used, suggesting that flawed calculations may exaggerate the rate of species loss.

“A widely used index characterizing the average change in population sizes suffers from several mathematical and statistical issues, leading to a bias towards an apparent decrease even for balanced populations,” the Czech-based researchers said in their report. “The claim that vertebrate populations declined by 70% since 1970 is thus unsubstantiated.”

While these experts do not dispute that wildlife populations are in decline and extinction rates are increasing, they caution that the rate may not be as extreme as the WWF claims. One researcher expressed concern to Vox that such exaggerations could undermine public trust in environmental reports, potentially making it harder to address what remains a significant issue.