The Living Planet Report by the World Wildlife Fund

Global biodiversity has declined

• Download the2010 Living Planet Report
  _{(PDF 24MB)}

The Living Planet Index reflects the overall health of our planet's biodiversity.

It works a bit like a stock exchange index, by tracking average changes in animal populations from around the world.

The Index in detail:

• Tropical vs temperate areas
• Land vs aquatic species
• High-income vs low-income countries

The 30% decline means that on average, species population sizes were 30% smaller in 2007 than in 1970.

This decline is seen in all biomes.

And is highest in freshwater habitats.

But the trend is not the same all over the world

Tropical and temperate regions show starkly divergent trends.

What is the reason for this difference?

As do high-income and low- and middle-income countries.

How might biodiversity loss be related to country income level?

Scroll over the map below to see the Living Planet Index in more detail in different habitat types in tropical and temperate areas.

How is the Index calculated?