Living Planet Report 2016

WWF’s CONTENTS mission is to stop the degradation of the planet’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature, by conserving the world’s biological diversity, ensuring FOREWORD AND EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 that the use of renewable natural resources is sustainable, and promoting the reduction of pollution and wasteful consumption. [...] The 2016 report is an essential assessment of the state of the planet and it is a shock to read. [...] Consumption patterns in high- income countries result in disproportional demands on Earth’s Under the current trajectory, the future of many living organisms in ON AVERAGE, renewable resources, often at the expense of people and nature the Anthropocene is uncertain; in fact several indicators give cause POPULATIONS OF elsewhere in the world. [...] An understanding of Planetary Boundaries can help us CHALLENGE FOR between impacts in one part of the globe and consumer choices grasp the complexity of human impacts on the planet (Rockström HUMANITY TO ALTER thousands of kilometres away are illustrated by the story of soy. [...] We need to design responses that match the size of the challenge of TRANSITIONING STATE OF THE NATURAL PLANET HUMAN IMPACTS ON THE PLANET actually shifting to sustainable and resilient modes of production TOWARD A RESILIENT •. The Living Planet Index shows a decline •. Human activities and resource uses and consumption.