The Human Race is plundering the Planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support Life by World Wide Fund for Nature 10:19am 22nd Oct, 2004   Switzerland – 21, Oct 2004    The human race is plundering the planet at a pace that outstrips its capacity to support life, according to a report by WWF.    The Living Planet Report 2004 shows that humans currently consume 20 per cent more natural resources than the earth can produce, and that populations of  terrestrial, freshwater and marine species fell on average by 40 per cent between 1970 and 2000.     "We are spending nature's capital faster than it can regenerate," said Dr Claude Martin, Director General of WWF International. "We are running up an ecological debt which we won't be able to pay off unless governments restore the balance between our consumption of natural resources and the earth's ability to renew them."      The Living Planet Index shows that the health of the planet is declining at a rapid rate due to our increasing consumption of natural resources.    The index tracks trends in populations of more than a thousand species. It reveals that from 1970 to 2000 populations of terrestrial and marine species dropped by 30 per cent, while freshwater populations plummeted by a spectacular 50 per cent.    WWF believes this is a direct consequence of increasing human demand for food, fibre, energy and water. Sharpened and enhanced data confirm the trend WWF pointed out in previous Living Planet reports.    Our ecological footprint – that is the impact of humanity on the earth – has increased two and half fold since 1961. The 2004 report shows that average footprint is 2.2 hectares per person while there is only 1.8 hectares of land to provide natural resources for each of the people on the planet. This is worked out by dividing the earth's 11.3 billion hectares of productive land and sea space between its 6.1 billion people.       Particularly alarming is our energy footprint – dominated by our use of fossils fuels such as coal, gas and oil. This is the fastest growing component of the ecological footprint, increasing by nearly 700 per cent between 1961 and 2001.    WWF points out that the over-exploitation of these fuels is putting the whole of humanity under threat from climate change. Furthermore, it believes that it is of pressing importance that governments, industry and the public switch to renewable energies and promote energy efficient technologies, buildings and transport systems.     The report shows that people in the West are consuming resources at an extremely unsustainable level. The "footprint" of an average North American is not only double that of a European but seven times that of the average Asian or African.    The report warns that pressure on the earth's resources will only increase as these regions develop and consume more.      "Sustainable living and a high quality of life are not incompatible," said Jonathan Loh, one of the authors of the report. "However we need to stop wasting natural resources and to redress the imbalance in consumption between the developing and industrialized worlds."     While WWF is striving to fulfil its mission of building a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, it is also calling on governments to act on their commitments to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010.    These commitments were reiterated at the meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Kuala Lumpur this year. The meeting also set national and regional targets for creating networks of protected areas, including new parks, which will help safeguard biodiversity.  Visit the related web page
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