Wildlife population in the country has decreased by 73 percent in the last 50 years, claims the report of the Zoological Society of London.

New Delhi: Wildlife populations have declined by 73% in the last 50 years (1970-2020). This decline has occurred in the populations of the organisms that were monitored. This claim has been made in the Living Planet Index Report 2024 by the Zoological Society of London. The report warns that conditions causing serious danger to humans are increasing on Earth. World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-India has expressed serious concern over this report.What is the reason for this decline?
In the Living Planet Index released by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), it has been said that from the year 1970 to 2020, the population of 5495 organisms has decreased by about 35 thousand. The maximum decline has been seen in the Freshwater Index by 85%, the Terrestrial Index by 69% and the Marine Index by 56%. According to the report, this decline in the population of animals is due to changes in food systems and the trend for more profit, along with invasive animals and disease, which has led to the biggest crisis of damage and depletion of wildlife habitat around the world. Pollution is another crisis in Asia and the Pacific, causing animal populations to decline by an average of 60%.

The decline in wildlife populations can be considered an early indication of their increasing threat of extinction. According to Kirsten Schuette, Director General of WWF International, nature is showing signs of crisis. Wildlife is at risk due to threats from both nature and climate change, which are threatening the destruction of the Earth’s life support systems and destabilizing societies around the world.

a little relief here
Despite the decline in wildlife populations in India, populations of some other wildlife have stabilised. Tigers are found most in India in the world. According to the Living Planet report, the important benefits of wetlands such as water retention, groundwater recharge and flood control were significantly reduced due to climate change. Due to this, the people of Chennai faced the crisis of both drought and flood. According to Ravi Singh, General Secretary and CEO of WWF-India, the Living Planet Report 2024 highlights the importance of the interconnectedness of nature, climate and human well-being. Our choices and actions over the next five years will be critical to the future of the entire planet.

Vulture species in danger in India
The sharp decline in the population of three species of vultures in India – Gyps bengalensis, Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) and Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) is worrying. Research shows that populations of these species have declined, particularly between 1992 and 2020. In 2022, BNHS had predicted this decline in its survey of vultures across the country. According to this, there has been a huge decline of 67% in the population of white-tailed vultures, 48% in the population of Indian vultures and 89% in the population of thin-billed vultures as compared to 2002.