Africa’s monitored wildlife populations have declined 80% since 1970, WWF report says
The average size of monitored vertebrate wildlife populations in Africa declined by 80% between 1970 and 2022, according to WWF’s Living Planet Report 2026, highlighting the scale of pressure facing the continent’s ecosystems while pointing to conservation efforts that have helped some species recover.
The report, produced using the Living Planet Index (LPI) compiled by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), tracks population trends among mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians. The 2026 dataset covers 35,803 population trends involving 5,790 vertebrate species worldwide, according to WWF.
The 80% figure requires an important qualification: it represents the average proportional change in the size of monitored wildlife populations included in the index. It does not mean that 80% of Africa’s individual wild animals have disappeared, nor that 80% of African wildlife species have been lost.
Globally, the report puts the average decline in monitored wildlife populations at 73% between 1970 and 2022. The steepest regional declines were recorded in Latin America and the Caribbean, at 95%, followed by Africa at 80% and Asia-Pacific at 49%. North America recorded a 28% decline, while Europe and Central Asia recorded a 23% decline.
The figures come against a backdrop of continuing habitat destruction, wildlife exploitation and climate-related pressures. WWF identifies habitat loss and degradation as the most frequently reported threats affecting monitored populations, followed by overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease.
Not all wildlife populations are declining
Despite the scale of the overall decline, WWF says the picture is not uniformly negative. About half of the populations included in the global index are either stable or increasing 43% are increasing and 7% are stable, according to the report.
The organisation points to several examples of successful conservation, including green turtles, bluefin tuna, tigers and some populations of southern African elephants.
African savannah elephants remain endangered overall and are declining across much of their range. But some populations in southern Africa have increased in areas where legal frameworks give local communities a direct role and stake in managing wildlife and natural resources.
WWF says those gains have been built over decades and supported by measures including anti-trafficking efforts, judicial reforms and efforts to reduce corruption.
The contrast illustrates a central argument of the report: conservation can produce measurable results, but long-term success depends on maintaining the investment and involving communities that live alongside wildlife.
Pressure on the Congo Basin
The report also highlights growing threats to the Congo Basin, one of the world’s most important forest ecosystems.
Agricultural expansion, logging, mining, road construction and other infrastructure are contributing to forest fragmentation, while hunting and poaching are adding pressure on wildlife. WWF says African forest elephant numbers have fallen by more than 60% over recent decades, with illegal killing for ivory and habitat loss among the main drivers.
The decline has consequences beyond the elephants themselves, the organisation says, because forest elephants contribute to forest regeneration and therefore influence ecosystem services and carbon storage.
WWF regional director for the Congo Basin Nadège Nzoyem called for governments, civil society and other sectors to coordinate their efforts, with Indigenous Peoples and local communities at the centre of conservation decisions.
Beyond protected areas
The report argues that conservation measures alone will not be enough to reverse biodiversity loss if the economic systems driving environmental degradation remain unchanged.
WWF identifies food production, fossil-fuel-based energy and financial flows as major forces behind nature loss. It says agriculture and food production are leading causes of habitat destruction, while fossil fuels drive climate change, which in turn puts additional pressure on ecosystems.
The organisation is calling for changes in food production and consumption, greater reductions in food waste, more sustainable trade and investment, and financial systems that account for nature and climate risks.
It estimates that the world faces an annual biodiversity finance gap of about US$942 billion, arguing that substantially more money needs to be directed towards protecting and restoring nature.
A warning ahead of major international negotiations
The report is being released at a politically significant moment for global biodiversity and climate policy.
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s COP17 is scheduled for 19–30 October in Yerevan, Armenia, where governments will undertake the first global review of collective progress towards implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
UN climate negotiations will follow at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9–20 November 2026.
Africa will also have a significant role in the climate process in 2027, with the UNFCCC having accepted Ethiopia’s offer to host COP32 in Addis Ababa from 8–19 November 2027.
For African governments, WWF argues that biodiversity, climate, land management and development policies should therefore be treated as interconnected priorities rather than separate agendas.
The report’s central message is ultimately both a warning and a call to action: wildlife populations have suffered major declines, but the recovery of particular species demonstrates that sustained conservation, community participation and changes in the systems driving environmental degradation can alter the trajectory.
As WWF Regional Director for East and Southern Africa Yvonne Godo put it, the challenge is no longer simply demonstrating that wildlife can recover, but creating conditions in which people and wildlife can thrive together.
Raveloaritiana Mamisoa Isabelle
