WWF Annual Review 2022 - 14

F OR E WOR D
THE GREAT DECLINE (OF NATURE)
AND THE GREAT AWAKENING (OF HUMANITY)
The paradox of a society in transition
he " great acceleration " is what
some scientists call the period of
exponential population growth,
economic development and consumption
of resources that started around 60
years ago, right at the time when WWF
was founded. The exponentially growing
demand for everything from energy,
water, minerals and timber to fish,
farmed animals, pesticides and fertilisers
has created deep socio-economic
inequality and, not surprisingly, put an
accelerating pressure on the natural world,
leading to a shocking decline of wildlife
populations and loss of ecosystems.
On the other hand, the evidence of our
impact on nature has never been better
understood and documented than in the
last decade − from climate change and
deforestation to pollution and extinction
risk. Every two years our Living Planet
Report has shone a vital spotlight on
the relentless decline of global wildlife
populations. But it was the first IPBES
report in 2019 that hit the headlines in
newspapers and primetime TV around
the world with the shocking estimate of
a million species at risk of extinction.
Suddenly, nature loss entered the public
discourse: one of many signs of the " great
awakening " . Equally impactful was the
worldwide coverage of wildfires erupting
everywhere with unprecedented scale and
ferocity: from the Amazon to Australia,
Africa, California and southern Europe,
and even in regions that had previously
been relatively unaffected, from Nordic
forests to Siberian taiga. The scenes of
flames and smoke − accompanied by the
loss of human lives and properties, and
incinerated or agonized wildlife −
violently demonstrated the connection
between the climate and nature loss
crises, and the risk to us all. The scenes
were apocalyptic, terrifying. People, as a
consequence, have responded ever more
promptly, with WWF-Australia's
recovery efforts, for example, aided by
the most successful fundraising campaign
in WWF's history. And when the
COVID pandemic highlighted the
links between human health and the
careless exploitation of wild species and
ecosystems, we saw 700,000 new financial
supporters and a 38% increase in income
during the two tragic years when the
pandemic was at its height.
Alongside the awareness of our
impacts, and perhaps more importantly,
people have also come to recognize the
consequences that our impact on the
natural world is beginning to have on
us - from destabilizing our economy
and society to threatening our personal
well-being and health. This equates to a
historic shift in perception about nature
loss. Concern and even fear have added to
existing sentiments of sadness and guilt
for failing on our moral duty to coexist
with the planet's amazing diversity of
life. From the decline of fish stocks and
pollinators to droughts, storms and
wildfires of unprecedented power and
frequency, affecting all corners of the
world, it is increasingly clear that no one
is exempt from the threat of extreme
weather events and biodiversity decline.
We are living perhaps the inevitable
paradox of a society at the start of a deep
transition where the growing impact
on the natural world is paralleled by an
unprecedented rise in awareness and
concern. A paradox that may represent
the foundation for change. >>
2014
2015
UK-BASED OIL
COMPANY SOCO
abandons
plans to
drill in the
DRC's Virunga National
Park, a mountain gorilla
stronghold, following
WWF's campaign.
WWF
ESTABLISHES
NINE THEMATIC
GLOBAL
COMMUNITIES
of practice across its
network to provide the
strategic and structural
backbone for enhanced
collective conservation
action and innovation.
WWF INTERNATIONAL 2022
2015
WWF CO-PRODUCES
WITH BCG
the Reviving
the ocean
economy
report, which estimates
the ocean's contribution
to the global economy
(Gross Marine Product)
at US$2.5 trillion
per year.
Main © Jaime Rojo / WWF-US, insets l to r: © naturepl.com / Andy Rouse / WWF, © Brent Stirton / Reportage by Getty Images / WWF,
© Shutterstock, solar: Ola Jennersten / WWF-Sweden, © Jashim Salam / WWF-UK, © Rafael de Castro Bento / WWF-Brasil

http://www.naturepl.com https://livingplanet.panda.org/ https://livingplanet.panda.org/ https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?346736/Global-Assessment-report-on-state-of-nature-offers-irrefutable-evidence-of-nature-loss-emphasising-the-urgent-need-for-transformative-change https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/oceans_practice/reviving_the_ocean_economy/ https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/oceans_practice/reviving_the_ocean_economy/ https://wwf.panda.org/discover/our_focus/oceans_practice/reviving_the_ocean_economy/

WWF Annual Review 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WWF Annual Review 2022