WWF Living Planet Report 2018 launched: Lahore, Karachi among 10 most polluted cities in the world

Lahore and Karachi are among the ten most polluted cities in the world in terms of air quality with Lahore topping the list released by the air quality monitor AirVisual. The situation needs an urgent action to tackle this issue, said Hammad Naqi Khan, Director General WWF-Pakistan while speaking at the launch of the WWF Living Planet Report 2018 here on Tuesday.
Naqi further said that air pollution caused by traffic, industries, crop burning and burning of solid waste are major contributors of smog and the layer of smog will thicken in the coming days. The urban air pollution in Pakistan is among the world's most severe, significantly damaging human health, quality of life, economy and the environment.
He urged people to move around with face masks to protect themselves from breathing problems, eye, nose, and throat infections. Sharing his thoughts about the report, he said, the Living Planet Index (LPI), which tracks trends in global wildlife abundance, indicates that global populations of fish, birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles declined, on average, by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014.
These declining populations are especially pronounced in the South America (89 percent), Africa (56 percent) and the Indo-Pacific (64 percent) region which includes Pakistan. In addition to these declining trends Pakistan is adversely affected by illegal wildlife trade which has deeply impacted our biodiversity.
Smuggling of freshwater turtles and pangolins are a growing concern as well as rising rates of deforestation. Increasing deforestation has contributed to increased threats for species such as the snow and common leopard which is fast losing its habitat. Pakistan is experiencing a steady rise in carbon emissions, which contributes to global issues such as climate change and global warming.
The Report released on Tuesday in the presence of environmental journalists and researchers, presents a sobering picture of the impact of human activity on the world's wildlife, forests, oceans, rivers and climate, underlining the rapidly closing window for action and the urgent need for the global community to collectively rethink and redefine how we value, protect and restore nature.
"Humanity and the way we feed, fuel and finance our societies and economies is pushing nature and the services that power and sustain us to the brink", said the report.
The Living Planet Report 2018 presents a comprehensive overview of the state of our natural world, twenty years after the flagship report was first published. Through indicators such as the Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the Species Habitat Index (SHI), the IUCN Red List Index (RLI) and the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), as well as Planetary Boundaries and the Ecological Footprint, the report paints a singular disturbing picture: human activity is pushing the planet's natural systems that support life on Earth to the edge.
The report highlights that over recent decades, human activity has also severely impacted the habitats and natural resources wildlife and humanity depend on such as oceans, forests, coral reefs, wetlands and mangroves.
While shedding light on the extent and impact of human activity on nature, the Living Planet Report 2018 also focuses on the importance and value of nature to people's health and well-being and that of our societies and economies. Globally, nature provides services worth around US$125 trillion a year, while also helping ensure the supply of fresh air, clean water, food, energy, medicines and other products and materials.
The report specifically looks at the importance of pollinators which are responsible for US$ 235-577 billion in crop production per year, and how a changing climate, intensive agricultural practices, invasive species and emerging diseases have impacted their abundance, diversity and health.
Evidence shows that the two agendas - for the environment and human development - must converge if we are to build a sustainable future for all. The Living Planet Report 2018 highlights the opportunity the global community has to protect and restore nature leading up to 2020, a critical year when leaders are expected to review the progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals, the Paris Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
WWF is calling on people, businesses and governments to mobilize and deliver on a comprehensive framework agreement for nature and people under the CBD, one that galvanizes public and private action to protect and restore global biodiversity and nature and bend the curve on the devastating trends highlighted in the Living Planet Report 2018.
Living Planet Report 2018 is the twelfth edition of WWF's biennial flagship publication. The report includes the latest findings measured by the Living Planet Index tracking 16,704 populations of 4,005 vertebrate species from 1970 to 2014.