Following Staggering Report that Wildlife Populations Plummeted By Two Thirds in 50 Years, Udall Renews Call for Bold Action to Save Nature

By The Office of Senator Tom Udall | Thumbnail Photo: World Wildlife Fund Website

WASHINGTON—Today, following the World Wildlife Fund’s alarming report documenting that the world has lost two-thirds of global animal, bird and fish populations over the past 50 years, U.S. Senator Tom Udall (D-N.M.) issued the following statement to renew his call for bold action to save nature in order to save ourselves, by protecting 30 percent of our land and waters by 2030. Udall is the lead author of the 30×30 Resolution to Save Nature.

“This new report brings the consequences of habitat destruction and species exploitation into stark relief: human actions have accelerated the loss of two-thirds of our planet’s wildlife in the blink of an evolutionary eye. This is an unsustainable and self-destructive crisis for humanity. Our collective survival depends on the global ecosystems of plants, animals, birds and fish that sustain the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. We must urgently prioritize policies that repair our planet’s life support system, which is why I have introduced the 30×30 Resolution to Save Nature to set a national goal of conserving 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030.

“We must also change our pattern of unsustainable consumption and waste that wreaks havoc on land and marine ecosystems if we want to pass a livable planet on to our children and grandchildren. We need to look no further than our streets and streams littered with plastic trash and marine life tangled in plastic waste, which are only the most visible parts of an avalanche of plastic pollution that is harming humans and wildlife at the most microscopic level and disrupting natural food patterns. The Senate should pass the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act to finally make corporations pay their fair share of cleanup costs.

“Today’s report marks an urgent call to action for every one of us. While we confront the intersecting crises of the current pandemic and economic recession, we must chart a sustainable path forward that seizes the economic and public health benefits of nature protection and climate action. The rapid loss of nature and unchecked global warming make each crisis worse—but action on climate and conservation reinforce each other and are both necessary to ensure the prosperity of future generations. The American people are calling out for action and we have the power to help the natural world recover. We have no more time to waste to save our planet, and ourselves.”