WWF sounds alarm: wildlife populations are plummeting

Global biodiversity continues to be under massive threat. According to the WWF’s Living Planet Report 2024 published on Friday, the wild animal populations surveyed have shrunk by an average of 73% over the last 50 years. + Get the most important news from Switzerland in your inbox Habitat destruction, poaching and the climate crisis are among the main causes. There are also losers in Switzerland: wolves, hedgehogs and the golden ground beetle are particularly affected. The WWF called for a global nature conservation offensive. For example, the amount of protected area should increase significantly. The aim is to increase their share to 30% 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 the 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 ...