Living Planet Index

The Living Planet Index (LPI) is an indicator of the state of global biological diversity, based on trends in vertebrate populations of species from around the world.

As of 2022, the index is statistically created from journal studies, online databases and government reports for 31,821 populations of 5,230 species of mammal, bird, reptile, amphibian and fish.

[4] One of the key drivers of declines has been identified as land-use change and the associated habitat loss and degradation, often linked to unsustainable agriculture, logging, or other development.

[4] The global LPI is calculated using these population time-series, which are gathered from a variety of sources such as journals, online databases and government reports.

[13] Talking to National Geographic, he criticised the attempt to combine data from different regions and ecosystems into a single figure, arguing that such reports are likely motivated by a desire to grab attention and raise money.

[17] Results are presented biennially in the WWF Living Planet Report and in publications such as the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment and the UN Global Biodiversity Outlook.

[27] Informing the CBD 2020 strategic plan, the Indicators and Assessments Unit at ZSL is concerned with ensuring the most rigorous and robust methods are implemented for the measurement of population trends, expanding the coverage of the LPI to more broadly represent biodiversity, and disaggregating the index in meaningful ways (such as assessing the changes in exploited or invasive species).