Living Planet Report 2020

  Sep 19, 2020

Living Planet Report 2020

Q. Why is this in news ?

Q. What is Living Planet Report?

Q. What is Living Planet Index (LPI)?

A. It is a measure of the state of the world’s biological diversity based on population trends of vertebrate species in terrestrial, freshwater and marine habitats.

Q. What is ecological footprint?


Q. What are key findings of the report ?

  1. The population of vertebrate species declined by around 68 per cent between 1970 and 2016. Living Planet Index was used by the report to calculate this decline.
  2. Wildlife populations in freshwater habitats suffered a decline of 84 per cent, equivalent to four per cent per year, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean.
  3. The average two-thirds decline in global populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish in less than 50 years in large parts is due to the same environmental destruction, which is contributing to emergence of zoonotic diseases such as Covid-19.
  4. 75 per cent of earth’s ice-free land has been significantly altered, most of the oceans polluted and over 85 per cent area of wetlands lost ~ all due to human activity.
  5. One in five plants is threatened with extinction.

Q. What are factors responsible for this decline?

  1. Land-use change.
  2. Use and trade of wildlife.
  3. Natural habitat loss.
  4. Degradation and deforestation driven by food production processes.

Q. What is India’s scenario?

Q. What are reforms suggested?