Scientists fear two-thirds drop in global wildlife by 2020: WWF

Scientists said they fear the global wildlife population could drop by two-thirds by 2020 if nothing is done to improve the situation, according to the deputy country representative of World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) China Thursday.

Li Lin launched the organization's newly published Living Planet Report 2016 at a press conference in Beijing.

The report is produced by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Footprint Network every two years to discuss the impact of human activity on the planet and propose solutions.

According to the report, the world's vertebrate population declined by 58 percent between 1970 and 2012, the most recent year with available data.

The top threats to species identified in the report are directly linked to human activity, including habitat loss and wildlife overexploitation.

"Human behavior continues to drive the decline of wildlife population globally, with particular impact on freshwater habitats. These are declines - not extinctions - and should be a wake-up call to marshal efforts to promote the recovery of these populations," said Professor Ken Norris, ZSL's Director of Science.

Li praised China's efforts to protect the environment and wildlife. Of note was when the status of the giant panda was upgraded by the International Union for Conservation of Nature from "endangered" to "vulnerable."

The Chinese government is also attentive to the environment. Ecological restoration of large areas of the Loess Plateau in China from a barren landscape to being once again covered with forest and grassland shows the change.

Furthermore, since the early 1970s, humanity has been demanding more than the planet can sustainably offer. By 2012, the bio-capacity equivalent of 1.6 Earths was needed to provide the natural resources and services humanity consumed that year, the report found.

Li said the world's food and energy systems hold the solution to the increasing challenge.

According to the report, food production to meet the complex demands of an expanding human population is leading the race to destroy habitats and overexploit wildlife. At present, agriculture occupies about one-third of the Earth's total land area and almost 70 per cent of water use.