Botswana

Wildlife Populations Decline 73% Over 52 Years: Report Reveals Conservation Funding Is Only One-Thirty-Third of Spending on Ecological Destruction

The World Wildlife Fund's 2026 Living Planet Report indicates that approximately $7.3 trillion flowed into activities harmful to nature in 2023, while only about $220 billion was used for conservation — a ratio of roughly 33 to 1. Over the same period, monitored wildlife populations declined by an average of 73%, with Latin America and the Caribbean seeing declines as high as 95% and Africa 80%, highlighting the structural inequality between funding flows and ecological consequences.