ne Planet Lifestyle - WWF-India

WWF’s Living Planet Report also looks at thelink between our growing global footprint,and the decline in the planet’s biodiversity.On average, the populations of hundreds ofdifferent species have declined by one thirdsince 1970.Humanity’s ecological footprint varies greatlyfrom country to country, and from communityto community, but industrialised countriesgenerally have much greater national footprintsthan the economies of developing countries.For example, the average American consumesthe equivalent of 9.4 hectares of resourcesa year. That’s almost 5 times the global ‘fairshare’. In other words, if everyone in the worldlived like an average American, we wouldneed to have 5 planets the same as Earth tosupport our lifestyles. Europeans consume anaverage of almost 5 hectares a year each –so if everyone on the planet had aEuropean lifestyle, we would need nearly3 planet Earths.The world’s population is growing, as areconsumer expectations – particularly in rapidlydevelopingeconomies such as China andIndia. That’s why it is so important that we allembrace the concept of “One Planet Living”- and ensure that we, and our children, can allsurvive and thrive.The G8 countries - theUSA, Japan, Russia,Germany, the UK,France, Italy andCanada – account foraround 13 per cent ofthe world’s population,but over 30 per cent ofhumanity’s ecological footprint. The USA alone accountsfor over 16 per cent of footprint, now closely followedby China.To download the latest Living Planet Report, go towww.panda.org/livingplanet> We must live to learn within the limits of our planet’snatural ‘budget’ if we are to avoid wide-scale drought,food shortages, mass migrations and more> We need to find sustainable ways in which to meethuman demand for food, clothing, energy, health,education, mobility and leisure.Humanity’s carbon emissions are now greater thanthe Earth’s ability to absorb them.The WWF Pocket Guide to a One Planet Lifestyle // www.panda.org/oneplanet11EXITSEARCHPRINTBACKNEXT