WWF report puts regional wildlife population decline at 95%

World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF, said its Living Planet Report 2026 found an average 95% decline in monitored wildlife populations in Latin America and the Caribbean between 1970 and 2022. The report was released on Wednesday 7 October and said the regional figure was higher than the 73% worldwide average decline over the same period.

WWF said the figure does not mean that 95% of all animals in the region have disappeared. It represents the average proportional decline among wildlife populations included in the Living Planet Index, which tracks 35,803 population trends involving 5,790 mammal, bird, fish, reptile and amphibian species.

WWF Netherlands said it works with local conservation organisations, researchers, governments and communities in the Dutch Caribbean, including St. Maarten.

WWF identified habitat loss and degradation as the most frequently reported threats to wildlife, followed by overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease. It also said sustained conservation can support recovery, citing the green sea turtle’s 2025 move from Endangered to Least Concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List.