Global Landscapes Forum
May 18, 2021
The past couple of years have seen a wave of reports on Earth’s biodiversity and its dire state, finding that 1 million species are under threat of extinction and that populations of monitored animals have declined 68 percent since 1970. But how much are these scientific findings making it through to the zeitgeist? Are their numbers changing how much people care?
A new report released by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), commissioned by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), found that the number of people engaging in conversations and actions on biodiversity loss numbers hundreds of millions and is on the rise. This “eco-wakening,” as the report deems the trend, is most quickly climbing in Asia and emerging markets, with top growth and engagement rates in India, Pakistan and Indonesia, as measured between 2016 and 2020.