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Aerial view of Hardy Reef, home to the Heart Reef, in the Great Barrier Reef These images were taken on 20 June 2017 by a drone to assess if the Heart Reef has been bleached.
Aerial view of Hardy Reef, Great Barrier Reef © Christian Miller / WWF-Australia

Living Planet Report

Since 1998, WWF’s Living Planet Report has been tracking the state of nature globally. 

We’re all connected

The Living Planet Report, now in its 16th edition, is a comprehensive study of trends in global biodiversity and the health of the planet.

It’s based on the Living Planet Index (LPI), which tracks almost 35,803 population trends of 5,790 species from 1970 to 2022.


The 2026 Living Planet Report is a powerful reminder that while wildlife and the natural world we depend on face unprecedented challenges, nature’s remarkable capacity to recover gives us reason for hope.

Key findings from WWF’s Living Planet Report 2026:

The report reveals a 73% decline in the average size of monitored wildlife populations since 1970, with the greatest losses occurring in freshwater ecosystems. Habitat loss, climate change, pollution and overexploitation continue to put immense pressure on wildlife and the natural world we all depend on. In Australia, steep falls in gentoo penguin numbers on Macquarie Island, and lemuroid ringtail possums and green ringtail possums in the Wet Tropics, contributed to that global decline statistic. 

Yet nature's capacity to recover remains extraordinary. Half of the wildlife populations monitored are stable or increasing, and conservation successes for species like tigers, green turtles, bluefin tuna and southern African elephants show that when we take action, nature responds. 

These successes tell us that to create lasting change, we must transform the systems driving nature loss, particularly the way we produce food, generate energy and invest capital. Encouragingly, positive shifts are already underway, demonstrating that change is possible when people, communities, businesses and governments work together. 

We have the knowledge, the solutions and the opportunity to turn the tide for nature. If we act now and at the scale needed, we can help create a world where wildlife, people and the places we love can thrive together for generations to come.  

Downloadable assets

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Forests of eastern Australia © WWF-Australia / thinkMammoth

We All Need Trees

 The 2026 Living Planet Report has revealed that our natural world is in crisis. We are witnessing the devastating loss of nature and biodiversity at an unprecedented rate, and the consequences are far-reaching. But there is a message of hope that nature can recover.

Native forests clean our air, cool our communities, store carbon, protect water and provide a home for countless wildlife species. Across Australia, however, these forests and the life they support are under threat.

Add your voice and join thousands of people calling on leaders to keep native trees standing and support our living planet.  

Add your voice
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Tanya Pritchard and Free Vreman Bangalow Koalas Tree Planting © WWF-Australia
© WWF-Australia

Toward a resilient future

If humans can change the planet so profoundly, then it’s also in our power to put things right. That will require new ways of thinking, smarter production methods, wiser consumption and new finance and governance systems.

WWF’s Living Planet Report provides possible solutions – including the fundamental changes required in the global food, energy and finance systems to meet the needs of current and future generations.

What is your footprint?
Plastic water bottles collected from a beach within a Marine Protected Area
© Peter Chadwick / WWF

Did you know?

Over the last 100 years, humans have played an important role in changing the Earth's ecosystems. To mark this new era in Earth's history, experts introduced the 'Anthropocene', the Age of Humans.

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