Human footprint too big for nature: WWF-I

New Delhi, Nov 1 (UNI) The world's natural ecosystems are being degraded at a rate unprecedented in human history, according to a global report released by conservation organisation WWF-India.

WWF's Living Planet Report 2006, the group's biennial statement on the state of the natural world, said at current projections humanity would be using two planets' worth of natural resources by 2050 - if those resources would have not run out by then. It also confirmed the trend of biodiversity loss seen in previous Living Planet reports.

WWF-India Secretary General and CEO Ravi Singh said ''We are in serious ecological overshoot, consuming resources faster than the Earth can replace them. India's national Ecological Footprint is more than 50 per cent larger than its bio capacity.'' ''The consequences of this are predictable and dire. The growth of the Indian economy in the past decade has been accompanied by a rising footprint. It is vital for the future that India does not follow the developmental course of the west but one that is committed to sustainability. It is high time we realise our responsibility towards our planet and make efforts to protect and conserve it,'' He added.

Already resources were depleting, with the report showing that vertebrate species populations had declined by about one-third in the 33 years from 1970 to 2003. At the same time, humanity's Ecological Footprint - the demand people place upon the natural world - had increased to the point where the earth was unable to keep up in the struggle to regenerate.

MORE UNI IP VD BS1728