Population of 274 representative marine species are tracked to calculate the Marine Living Planet Index. This index shows us the current health of marine environment in 4 oceans as compared to 1970.
The Marine Living Planet Index shows a greater than 27% decline on average across the four ocean basins in the period between 1970 and 2003.
Marine Living Planet Index
Zooming into the Marine Living Planet Index
| The marine index is split by ocean basis. A comparative picture shows dramatic declines in populations of species in the Indian/Southeast Asian and Southern Oceans as compared to the Arctic/Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. | ||
 |
 |
|
| Indian/Southeast Asian Oceans saw more than 50% decline, in the Southern Ocean it was about 30%. In Pacific Ocean species reamined stable overall, while trends in Arctic/Atlantic Oceans increased overall. | ||
Mangroves: the indicator of ocean health
 |
Mangroves provide nurseries to 85% of commercial fish species in the tropics and are essential in maintaining fish stocks. Between 1990 and 2000, in just 10 years, Asia lost more than 25% while South America lost almost 50% of their mangrove cover. |
|