SYLLABUS

GS-3: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Context: The World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) released the Living Planet Report 2026: The Science of Hope, reporting a 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations globally between 1970 and 2022.

Key Findings of the Report

Global Biodiversity Trends:

• Wildlife population decline: The average size of monitored wildlife populations declined by 73% between 1970 and 2022. This represents the average change in population sizes, not the percentage of individual animals lost.

• Ecosystem-wise decline: Freshwater populations recorded the steepest decline (85%), followed by terrestrial (69%) and marine populations (59%).

• Regional decline: Latin America and the Caribbean recorded a 95% decline, followed by Africa (80%) and Asia-Pacific (49%).

• Signs of recovery: Nearly half of the monitored populations were stable or increasing, demonstrating the potential for wildlife recovery through sustained conservation efforts.

Major Drivers of Biodiversity Loss:

• Habitat loss and degradation: The most frequently reported threat, driven largely by agricultural expansion.

• Other threats: Overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease.

• Systemic drivers: Unsustainable food production and consumption, energy systems dependent on fossil fuels, and financial flows supporting activities that damage nature.

• Harmful financial flows: In 2023, approximately US$7.3 trillion flowed into activities harmful to nature, compared with US$220 billion for nature protection and restoration.

India’s Conservation Achievements and Challenges

• Tigers: India’s tiger population was estimated at 3,682 in the 2022 All India Tiger Estimation.

• Greater one-horned rhinoceroses: The population exceeded 3,300.

• Asiatic lions: Their population increased from 674 in 2020 to 891 in 2025.

• Snow leopards: India’s first nationwide assessment estimated 718 individuals.

• Common leopards: Their estimated population was 13,874.

• Ganges river dolphins: The first range-wide assessment estimated 6,324 dolphins across the surveyed range.

• Challenges: Species such as the Great Indian Bustard and Indian wolf need stronger conservation strategies, particularly outside protected areas. 

• Poaching and increasing human–wildlife conflict also remains concerns.

Positive Tipping Points and Nature Recovery:

• A positive tipping point occurs when a system crosses a critical threshold, triggering self-reinforcing changes towards a healthier state.

• Energy: A positive tipping point has been reached, with solar power becoming the cheapest source of new electricity generation in most countries.

• Food and agriculture: Early signs of transformation include nature-positive production, sustainable consumption, healthier diets and reduced food loss and waste.

• Finance: Financial systems need to redirect investments away from harmful activities, recognise nature-related risks and close the annual biodiversity finance gap.

• Conservation success: Recoveries among tigers, green turtles, bluefin tuna and some southern African elephant populations demonstrate that sustained conservation can deliver results.

Key Recommendations

• Transform food systems: Promote nature-positive agriculture, sustainable diets and reduced food loss and waste.

• Accelerate clean energy: Expand renewable energy and speed up the transition away from fossil fuels.

• Reform financial systems: Redirect investments from nature-damaging activities towards conservation and ecosystem restoration.

• Strengthen wildlife conservation: Protect and restore habitats, tackle poaching and develop strategies for threatened species, including those outside protected areas.

• Promote community-led conservation: Involve local communities in wildlife management and enable them to benefit from sustainable natural resource use.

• Address human–wildlife conflict: Develop effective coexistence strategies that protect both wildlife and communities.

• Implement international commitments: Translate the goals of the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the Paris Agreement into concrete action.