WWF sounds the alarm "Wildlife is disappearing at record speed"
Wildlife populations are shrinking worldwide. The WWF Report 2024 shows a decline of 73 percent in the last 50 years. Habitat destruction, climate change and poaching are the main causes - including in Switzerland.
27.12.2024, 06:00
27.12.2024, 10:09
SDA
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- According to the WWF, wild animal populations have shrunk by 73 percent worldwide in the last 50 years.
- The WWF is calling for the expansion of protected areas to cover 30 percent of the world's land, water and marine areas by 2030.
- Despite successes such as the recovery of the Iberian lynx and the white stork, the WWF warns that man-made causes are continuing to accelerate the extinction of many species.
According to the WWF, global biodiversity is still under massive threat. In a statement, the NGO refers to its Living Planet Report 2024, according to which the wild animal populations studied have shrunk by an average of 73 percent over the last 50 years.
Habitat destruction, poaching and the climate crisis were among the main causes, according to the report published in the fall and referred to by the WFF in a statement on Friday.
Switzerland is also affected
There are also losers in Switzerland: wolves, hedgehogs and the golden ground beetle are particularly affected. The WWF has called for a global nature conservation offensive. For example, the total area of protected areas should increase significantly.
The aim is to increase their share to 30 percent of land, water and marine areas by 2030. Although Switzerland supports this goal, it is still a long way from achieving it, according to the WWF.
Despite alarming figures, there have also been successes in species conservation. For example, the Iberian lynx has been downgraded from "critically endangered" to "vulnerable" on the Red List, and the population of hawksbill turtles in the Mediterranean is showing a stable recovery. In addition, the otter has returned to Swiss waters and the white stork has reached a new high with 900 breeding pairs.
Humans are responsible for extinction
WWF species conservation expert René Kaspar warns: "Wild animals are disappearing from our planet forever at record speed and all the causes are man-made". At the same time, he emphasized the successes in species protection, which show that conservation measures can have an effect.
However, without systematic changes in land use and climate protection, biodiversity remains acutely threatened.
