At a Glance

Populations of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians have declined by 60 percent, on average, since 1970.Earth has lost about half of its shallow water corals in the past 30 years, the report noted.Twenty percent of the Amazon has disappeared in just 50 years.

Wildlife populations have, on average, decreased by 60 percent since 1970, a new report by the World Wildlife Federations found.

The bi-yearlyreleasedMonday documents the state of the planet, includingbiodiversity, ecosystemsand the demand on natural resources.

In addition to the significant decline in populations ofmammals, birds, fish, reptilesand amphibians, half of the world's shallow water corals were lost in the past 30 years, while 20 percent of the Amazon disappeared over the past 50 years.

"For the 2018 report, 319 new species have been added to the Living Planet Index database," Colby Loucks, deputy goal lead and senior director at the WWF Wildlife Conservation Program, told weather.com. "We’re monitoring more populations (16,704), more species (4,005), and the trend remains the same."

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Loucks said of those monitored, freshwater species are experiencing the "most worrying decline at 83 percent."

"The science is clear – human activity is pushing the planet and its species to the edge," Loucks said. "We’re degrading habitats, overfishing, overhunting and continuing unsustainable agricultural practices on a large scale. We need a healthy planet to have a healthy humanity. Nature gives usfresh air, clean water, food, energyand medicines. The decline of species and damage to the natural systems we all depend on will ultimately have negative impacts on our health, societies and economies."

African penguins are seen on Boulders Beach in South Africa.

(Mike Korostelev/Getty Images)

The organization does provide a silver lining, however, noting that it's not too late to act.

“From rivers and rainforeststo mangroves and mountainsides, across the planet, our work shows that wildlife abundance has declined dramatically since 1970. The statistics are scary, but all hope is not lost. We have an opportunity to design a new path forward that allows us to co-exist sustainably with the wildlife we depend upon. Our report sets out an ambitious agenda for change. We are going to need your help to achieve it,” saidKen Norris, director of science at the Zoological Society of London.

The WWF is calling on people, businesses and governments to mobilize together toconverge the two seemingly opposing agendas that address the environment and development in order to "build a sustainable future for all."

"There are things each of us can do to protect the world around us," Loucks told weather.com. "As consumers, we can use our purchasing power to tell business leaders that conservation matters. Buying products that are sustainably produced is a good place to start."

The report tracksmore than 16,000 populations and 4,000 species through the Living Planet Index provided by the Zoological Society of London.

Other :

•Nearly 6 billion tons of fish and other seafood have been taken from the world’s oceans since 1950.• Freshwater fish have had the highest extinction rate worldwide among vertebrates in the 20th century.• Ninety percent of the world’s seabirds have fragments of plastic in their stomach, according to estimates.•Worldwide, nature provides services worth an estimated $125 trillion a year.•Almost 200 million people rely on coral reefs for protection against storm surge and waves.