KUALA LUMPUR • The average size of wildlife populations has plummeted by two-thirds worldwide since 1970 as forests were felled to grow food, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) said yesterday, warning that harming ecosystems hikes the risk to humans of infectious diseases like Covid-19.

Land conversion for farming and wildlife trade were key reasons for the 68 per cent average drop across thousands of populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016, according to WWF's Living Planet Report 2020.

"Deforestation and in the larger sense, habitat loss - which is driven by how we produce and consume food - is the main cause of this dramatic decline," said Ms Fran Price, leader of the global forest practice at WWF International.

Ms Price pointed the finger at large-scale commercial agriculture mainly in the tropics and sub-tropics, including the production of palm oil, soy and beef.

Last year, tropical rainforests - whose preservation is considered crucial to curbing climate change - disappeared at a rate of one football pitch every six seconds, according to data from monitoring service Global Forest Watch.

Environmentalists say conserving existing forests and restoring damaged ones reduces the risk of flooding, helps limit global warming by storing more carbon and protects biodiversity.

The WWF report, with contributions from about 125 experts, tracked almost 21,000 populations of nearly 4,400 vertebrate species, giving an overview of the state of the natural world.

Those that live in freshwater suffered an 84 per cent decline, it noted. Other worst-hit wildlife included Eastern lowland gorillas in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the African grey parrot in Ghana, said Ms Price.

WWF director-general Marco Lambertini said in a statement: "These serious declines in wildlife species populations are an indicator that nature is unravelling and that our planet is flashing red warning signs of systems failure."

FOREST BUFFERS

Scientists say the rapid pace of deforestation is also a major factor in the spread of zoonotic diseases - which are passed from animals to humans - such as the coronavirus causing Covid-19.

"With deforestation and increased wildlife, livestock-human interactions, there is more of a chance of spillover of zoonotic diseases like Ebola, like Covid-19," Ms Price told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"Forests really act as buffers to keep those diseases away from humans - and the more we destroy them, the more chances there are that we are going to unleash something that can have dire impacts on humanity."

If the world continues with business as usual over the next decade, the losses in wildlife would take decades to reverse and populations are less likely to be revived, she said.

Ms Price urged bolder commitments and efforts by governments and corporations to make global supply chains more sustainable. Consumers also need to understand the impact of their purchasing habits on nature and buy more responsibly, she added.

The WWF report included 20 essays by experts from China to Mexico, writing on how they perceive a healthy planet for people and nature. Among them, respected British naturalist and veteran broadcaster David Attenborough urged people to "work with nature rather than against it".

The time for a pure focus on national interests had passed, he wrote. "The wealthier nations have taken a lot and the time has now come to give," he added.

THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION