Hi John You may have heard the grim news about WWF's latest Living Planet Report, which shows that humanity has reduced vertebrate wildlife populations by an average of 68% since 1970. If you're in the UK, you may have also seen our Patron Sir David Attenborough's equally
devastating new documentary, Extinction: The Facts, which premiered on BBC One last Sunday. And today marked the release of the fifth UN Global Biodiversity Outlook report, which confirms that not a single one of the 20 Aichi biodiversity targets have been met, with many threats worsening instead of improving.
The evidence is clear: the sixth mass extinction
is still accelerating and our increasing numbers are one of the main drivers. Heads of State are due to meet on 30 September to discuss how to boost action on biodiversity to help meet the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As we highlighted in our recent report on population and the SDGs, we are in fact moving backwards on many of the progress indicators, in large part because of continued rapid human population growth. To turn the tide, it is crucial that empowering, choice-based population solutions are included in global conservation efforts. Politicians have failed to address our extinction crisis for decades, and we can't afford to waste more time with fine speeches and empty promises. Please urge your government to discuss population at the upcoming Summit on Biodiversity.
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