Nature recovery shows protection works
Tigers, sea turtles and tuna are recovering locally, despite a global decline in animal populations.
Protecting habitats and limiting overfishing can genuinely help wild animal populations recover. This is shown by WWF’s new Living Planet Report, which at the same time warns that the average size of monitored vertebrate populations has fallen sharply since 1970.
The report analyses 35,803 population trends involving 5,790 vertebrate species between 1970 and 2022. The average size of monitored populations fell by 73 per cent over that period. This figure concerns population size, not the number of species that have disappeared or a direct measurement of all animals worldwide.
Against this decline are examples of recovery. WWF names wild tigers, green sea turtles, southern African elephants, and Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna. In the United Kingdom, bluefin tuna have returned in recent years to coastal waters where they had rarely been seen for a long time.
Researchers at the University of Hull say the return of bluefin tuna is linked to the recovery of fish stocks and changing conditions in the North Sea. They stress that the fish’s presence cannot simply be attributed to a single cause and that research into their movements is still under way.
The examples are not evidence that nature as a whole is recovering. In freshwater areas, the average population size fell the most, by 85 per cent, according to WWF. On land, the decline was 69 per cent and at sea 59 per cent.
The good news therefore mainly shows the conditions under which recovery is possible: long-term protection, enforcement, cooperation with local communities and management that adapts to new knowledge. The recovery stories are concrete, but remain vulnerable as long as habitat loss, overfishing, climate change and pollution continue.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The average size of monitored vertebrate populations has fallen sharply since 1970.
- Some species, including bluefin tuna and tigers, are showing signs of recovery.
- Recovery is linked to protection, management and cooperation, but the precise causes differ from species to species.
Left
Arguments The cases of recovery prove that governments and businesses must continue establishing protected areas, restoring ecosystems and limiting pollution and overfishing.
Values Ecological responsibility, intergenerational justice and protection of public nature.
Consequences More protection can strengthen nature and food security, but restricts some economic activities and requires public investment.
Centre
Arguments Successful nature policy requires measurable targets, long-term funding and cooperation with fishers, farmers and local communities. Measures must be adapted to each area and species.
Values Practical cooperation, evidence and administrative continuity.
Consequences A gradual approach can retain support, but produces visible results less quickly.
Right
Arguments Recovery works best when rules are clear, property rights are respected and economic sectors have room to develop their own solutions. Not every population increase justifies new bans.
Values Proportionality, enterprise and local responsibility.
Consequences This approach can encourage innovation and support, but without firm minimum standards there is a risk that recovery will remain vulnerable.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The global decline and the recovery examples cited can be verified in the WWF report and independent reporting. The article makes clear that cases of recovery do not mean the biodiversity crisis is over.
- confirmed The average size of monitored vertebrate populations fell by 73 per cent between 1970 and 2022. — This is the main finding of the Living Planet Index 2026. source
- confirmed WWF names tigers, green sea turtles, elephants and bluefin tuna as examples of recovery. — These species are mentioned in the WWF publication. source
- confirmed The return of bluefin tuna to British waters has several possible causes. — The University of Hull describes research into distribution, fish stocks and changing conditions. source
Editor's note
This is good news about demonstrable cases of recovery, not about global biodiversity as a whole. The Living Planet Index measures trends in monitored populations and ends its main series in 2022.Sources
- Living Planet Report 2026 — WWF
- World must seize shrinking window to save nature — WWF UK
- World must change way it produces food to avoid biodiversity collapse — The Guardian
- Return of Atlantic bluefin tuna signals conservation success — University of Hull
More on this in Dutch media
- Trouw — „natuurherstel biodiversiteit”
- RTL Nieuws — „natuurherstel biodiversiteit”
- FD — „natuurherstel biodiversiteit”