Growing demand for resources by a growing population is putting tremendous pressures on the planet's biodiversity and is threatening people's future security, health and well-being. These observations were in the 2012 edition of World Wide Funds for Nature (WWF)'s 'Living Planet Report-the leading biennial survey of the earth's health'.
The report reinforces the impact of human population growth and over-consumption as critical driving forces behind environmental pressure. It also highlights the impact of urbanisation as a growing dynamic; by 2050, two out of every three people will live in a city; and the need for humanity to develop new and improved ways of managing natural resources. The difference between rich and poor countries is also underlined in the report. High income countries have an ecological footprint on average five times that of low-income countries.
According to the report, the top 10 countries with the biggest ecological footprint per person are: Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, United States of America, Belgium, Australia, Canada, Netherlands and Ireland. Yet according to the global Living Planet Index, the decline in biodiversity since 1970 have been most rapid in the lower income countries, demonstrating how the poorest and most vulnerable nations are subsidising the lifestyles of wealthier countries.
Decreasing bio-capacity (a region's capacity to regenerate resources) will require a country to import essential resources from foreign ecosystems, potentially to the long-term detriment of the latter. The Living Planet Report outlines a number of solutions needed to reverse the declining Living Planet Index and bring the ecological footprint down to within planetary limits. These are set out as 16 priority actions, and include improved consumption patterns, putting an economic value on natural capital, and creating legal and policy frameworks that manage equitable access to food, water and energy.