De Vector

Protection brings tigers and turtles back

New examples show that nature restoration works, although the global decline in biodiversity remains severe.

Tiger populations grew by more than 70 per cent worldwide between 2010 and 2025, according to the Living Planet Report 2026. Green sea turtles and some tuna populations are also recovering, although the same analyses point to a broad and ongoing decline in biodiversity.

The report by WWF and the Zoological Society of London tracks almost 35,803 population trends among 5,790 vertebrate species. The average size of the monitored populations fell by 73 per cent between 1970 and 2022. This does not mean that there are 73 per cent fewer animals worldwide, but that the measured populations have on average become substantially smaller.

Against that negative trend are several clear recovery stories. According to the report, the number of wild tigers rose from about 3,200 in 2010 to around 5,700 in 2025. This is the first documented reversal of their long-term decline. Protected areas, better monitoring, efforts to combat poaching and cooperation with local communities all contributed.

The green sea turtle also received a better international conservation status. In 2025, it became the first sea turtle species to be moved on the IUCN Red List from ‘threatened’ to ‘not threatened’. The recovery is linked to decades of protecting nests and nesting beaches, reducing bycatch and involving local communities.

International fisheries agreements, restrictions on overfishing, and pressure from consumers and businesses played a role for Atlantic and Pacific bluefin tuna. According to WWF, both populations have recovered to a level at which they are no longer considered overfished and are no longer classed among species of great concern. Warmer oceans and illegal fishing remain risks, however.

The recovery is not visible everywhere. Habitat loss, overexploitation, climate change, pollution, invasive species and disease remain the main causes of the global decline. Tigers are still threatened, too, and now live in less than 8 per cent of their historical range. A growing population is therefore not the same as a species being secure.

The main lesson from these examples is that conservation can have a measurable effect when governments, residents, researchers and businesses work together over the long term. The report therefore offers hope, but no licence to weaken policy. Above all, the recoveries show that targeted measures work when they are sustained for long enough.

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