Living Planet Report 2012
Canadians must choose environment and economy for strong future
WWF’s 2012 Living Planet Report calls for greater economic value to be placed on natural capital. As a resource-based economy, Canada will benefit from securing long-term economic and ecosystem health by valuing the goods and services provided by nature. We must also reduce our ecological debt by limiting demand on the planet’s resources. This forward-looking approach will ensure that the burdens of a damaged environment and economy are not passed on to future generations.
The Living Planet Report reveals that Canadians are using approximately 3.5 times their share of the Earth’s annual productivity, part of a global trend of increasing demand for resources by a growing population. This trend is putting tremendous pressures on our planet’s biodiversity and is threatening our future security, health and well-being. The correlated decline in biodiversity threatens not only the balance of our ecosystems, but economic opportunities.
The Living Planet Report reveals that Canadians are using approximately 3.5 times their share of the Earth’s annual productivity, part of a global trend of increasing demand for resources by a growing population. This trend is putting tremendous pressures on our planet’s biodiversity and is threatening our future security, health and well-being. The correlated decline in biodiversity threatens not only the balance of our ecosystems, but economic opportunities.
One Planet
Global Ecological Footprint
Key Findings
- Biodiversity has declined globally by around 30 per cent between 1970 and 2008; by 60 per cent in the tropics
- Demand on natural resources has doubled since 1966 – we are currently using the equivalent of 1.5 planets to support our activities
- High-income countries have a footprint five times greater than that of low-income countries
- "Business as usual” projections estimate that we will need the equivalent of two planets by 2030 to meet our annual demands
- Canada has the 8th highest ecological footprint per capital of the 130 countries included, behind Qatar, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Denmark, United States of America, Belgium, and Australia
View from Space
Living Planet Index
Astronaut Andre Kuipers shares his passion for our living planet
About the Living Planet Report
The Living Planet Report uses the global Living Planet Index to measure changes in the health of the planet's ecosystems by tracking 9,000 populations of more than 2,600 species. The global Index shows almost a 30 per cent decrease since 1970, with the tropics the hardest hit – where there has been a 60 per cent decline in less than 40 years. Just as biodiversity is on a downward trend, the Earth’s Ecological Footprint, one of the other key indicators used in the report, illustrates how our demand on natural resources has become unsustainable.
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.
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.