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According to the IUCN Red List, biodiversity is declining. At the moment, there are more than 38,500 species threatened with extinction, including 41% of amphibians, 37% of sharks and rays, 34% of conifers, 33% of reef- corals, 26% of mammals and 14% of birds.

Human population growth and increasing urbanisation have led to rapid deforestation and the overuse of natural resources. There has been an average fall of 68% in monitored populations of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fish between 1970 and 2016 according to WWF.

75% of the Earth's ice-free land surface has already been altered and more than 85% of the wetlands have been lost since the industrial revolution. Most of the land has been changed from natural habitats for animals to agricultural lands to feed the human population.

Freshwater biodiversity is also in a steep decline. The 3,741 monitored populations – representing 944 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishes – in the Freshwater Living Planet Index have declined by an average of 84% since 1970.

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