Living Planet Index

This shows trends in populations of terrestrial, marine, and freshwater vertebrate species.

Latest Living Planet Report

Living Planet Report 2008 - Full report 4.35 MB pdf

The Living Planet Index measures trends in the Earth’s biological diversity

It tracks populations of 1,313 vertebrate species - fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals - from all around the world.

Separate indices are produced for terrestrial, marine, and freshwater species, and the three trends are then averaged to create an aggregated index. Although vertebrates represent only a fraction of known species, it is assumed that trends in their populations are typical of biodiversity overall.

By tracking wild species, the Living Planet Index is also monitoring the health of ecosystems.

Since 1970 the index has fallen by about 30%.

This global trend suggests that we are degrading natural ecosystems at a rate unprecedented in human history.

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