The world’s monitored wildlife populations have declined by an average of 73 per cent over 52 years, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2026, released on October 8. However, the report argues that the trend can be reversed, pointing to conservation successes involving India’s big cats and other threatened species. Prepared in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, the report examines population trends across thousands of vertebrate species and calls for changes to the food, energy and financial systems driving biodiversity loss.

The Living Planet Index analysed 35,803 population trends covering 5,790 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2022. Freshwater populations experienced the steepest decline at 85 per cent, followed by terrestrial wildlife at 69 per cent and marine populations at 59 per cent. Latin America and the Caribbean recorded a 95 per cent decline, while Africa saw an 80 per cent fall and the Asia-Pacific region reported a 49 per cent reduction. North America and Europe and Central Asia experienced smaller declines of 28 per cent and 23 per cent, respectively, partly because extensive environmental damage in those regions began before 1970. The report clarifies that the 73 per cent figure represents average changes in monitored populations, not the proportion of individual animals that have disappeared. While 43 per cent of monitored populations increased and 7 per cent remained stable, the overall declines outweighed the gains.

India’s wildlife conservation efforts offer examples of recovery, particularly among large mammals. Global wild tiger numbers increased from approximately 3,200 in 2010 to around 5,700 in 2025, while India’s 2022 tiger estimation recorded 3,682 animals. The country also reported more than 3,300 greater one-horned rhinoceroses, 13,874 common leopards and 718 snow leopards. The Asiatic lion population rose from 674 in 2020 to 891 in 2025. Meanwhile, India’s first range-wide river dolphin assessment, conducted across 8,507 kilometres of 28 rivers between 2021 and 2023, estimated a population of 6,324 Ganges river dolphins. These figures demonstrate progress in protecting particular species, although the report warns that such gains do not mean wildlife is safe from wider environmental pressures.

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The report identifies habitat loss as the most frequently reported threat to wildlife, followed by overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease. It argues that conservation programmes alone cannot reverse these trends without broader economic changes. Food production contributes to habitat destruction, energy systems drive climate change, and financial flows continue to support activities that harm nature. In 2023, approximately $7.3 trillion went towards activities damaging nature, compared with $220 billion for conservation and restoration. The resulting annual biodiversity financing gap stands at $1.3 trillion, highlighting the scale of investment needed to protect ecosystems and support recovery.

Energy transition is identified as an area where positive change could accelerate. Citing research from the University of Exeter, the report says a self-reinforcing shift towards cleaner energy has already reached a positive tipping point. India has achieved its target of obtaining 50 per cent of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources five years ahead of its 2030 deadline. Non-fossil sources accounted for 54.88 per cent of the country’s installed capacity as of August 31, 2026, and India has set a new target of 60 per cent by 2035. Sejal Worah, programme director at WWF-India, said the country had taken significant leadership in energy while efforts were also underway to redesign agriculture. She argued that economic growth, development and conservation could progress together if solutions were pursued collectively.

Despite these gains, wildlife recovery remains fragile. Tiger distribution has expanded by 30 per cent over two decades, but India lost 92,989 square kilometres of forest cover between 2011 and 2021, with nearly half of that loss occurring within reserve forest areas. Around 45 per cent of tigers now inhabit multiple-use landscapes shared with approximately 66 million people. More than 600 human deaths were recorded in tiger-related incidents between 2014 and 2024, with fatalities increasing after 2022 as tiger numbers grew by about 6 per cent annually. Asiatic lions face a different challenge because their population remains concentrated in Gujarat’s Saurashtra peninsula, across the 35,000-square-kilometre Gir landscape. Their habitat overlaps with industries, farmland, highways, railway tracks and urban settlements. The report’s findings underline that protecting individual species must go hand in hand with preserving habitats, reducing human-wildlife conflict and changing the economic systems that place nature under pressure.

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