WWF Annual Review 20 - 4

FOREWORD
THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC HAS CAUSED BOTH SUFFERING AND DISRUPTION TO
MILLIONS, BUT IT MAY ALSO FINALLY AWAKEN HUMANITY TO OUR DANGEROUSLY
UNBALANCED RELATIONSHIP WITH THE NATURAL WORLD.
There have never been more protected areas; some threatened species like tigers,
mountain gorillas and the giant panda are showing signs of recovery; the global
share of clean energy is growing; and consumer and producer awareness has never
been higher. All great successes. But not enough. Wildernesses continue to be lost,
many wild species are in steep decline, and forests, inland waters, oceans and
climate are being seriously altered.
Although the long and tragic decline in our natural world has been well documented in recent decades,
humanity so far has failed to meet the crisis head-on. But the devastating impacts of the COVID-19
pandemic, together with extreme weather events and shocking forest mega-fires, could finally trigger
the emergency response we all so desperately need: prompting us to profoundly rethink our relationship
with nature. We must stop taking nature for granted, and value the natural systems and the
biodiversity that the stability of the planet and our well-being depend on.
Meanwhile, the risks to nature and people are increasing. COVID-19 is not a unique emergency; it is
just the latest in a long line of deadly zoonotic diseases, which have jumped from animals to humans -
the result of an expanding trade in wild animals and deforestation driven mainly by unsustainable
food production. And the risk of future, possibly deadlier, pandemics is growing as nature is disrupted
and people and wildlife increasingly come into contact.
In 2020, the latest edition of WWF's Living Planet Report revealed an average 68% decrease in
thousands of wildlife populations in less than 50 years. An earlier report from IPBES showed that
two-thirds of the planet is already altered by human activities, and one million species are being
driven towards extinction.
Science has never been clearer. We are not only failing our moral duty to coexist with nature and
the planet's amazing diversity of life, but we are also threatening our climate, food, water, and
health. And we know the Earth's natural systems can't withstand such growing pressure.
WWF, together with a growing number of governments, businesses, and environmental,
humanitarian, Indigenous, faith-based and youth organizations, is calling on world leaders and all of
us to act. This has to be the decade of nature and climate action. In 2020, over 80 heads of state and
the President of the EU signed a pledge to reverse nature loss by 2030. We now must translate this
commitment into action. We know what to do and we know it's possible: we must protect at least 30%
of land, fresh water and sea through governments, Indigenous peoples, local communities and private
ventures; we must curb unsustainable wildlife trade and overfishing; we must reduce the impact
of how we produce and consume energy and food, and how we build infrastructure; and we must
boost green finance, embracing a clear carbon-neutral and nature-positive global goal for humanity.
The opportunity to heal our relationship with nature, and build a more equitable society, is at
hand. Crucial, unmissable. We will continue to work even more passionately and relentlessly
toward it. Supported by the growing realization that, in fact, we depend on nature much more
than nature depends on us.

MARCO LAMBERTINI
DIRECTOR GENERAL
WWF INTERNATIONAL

WWF INTERNATIONAL 2020

WHY WE MUST
RESET OUR RELATIONSHIP
WTH NATURE

https://livingplanet.panda.org/en-gb/ 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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6_vgpG4fpk&list=PLe2nGhEGXFVvC2Pnu2borEcvp5hEw5qxa&index=1&t=2s&ab_channel=WWFInternational

WWF Annual Review 20

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of WWF Annual Review 20