The new WWF's Living Planet Report 2004 found that humans currently consume 20% more natural resources than the earth can produce, and that populations of terrestrial, freshwater and marine species fell on average by 40% between 1970 and 2000. Humans are spending nature's capital faster than it can regenerate.

The Living Planet Index shows that the health of the planet is declining at a rapid rate due to our increasing consumption of natural resources. The index tracks trends in populations of more than a thousand species. It reveals that from 1970 to 2000 populations of terrestrial and marine species dropped by 30%, while freshwater populations plummeted by a spectacular 50%. WWF believes this is a direct consequence of increasing human demand for food, fibre, energy and water.

The Ecological Footprint, a measure of the pressure on Earth resulting from humanity's natural resource exploitation, has increased two and half fold since 1961. The 2004 report shows that average footprint is 2.2 hectares per person while there is only 1.8 hectares of land to provide natural resources for each of the people on the planet. This is worked out by dividing the earth's 11.3 billion hectares of productive land and sea space between its 6.1 billion people.

"Particularly alarming is our energy footprint -- dominated by our use of fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil. This is the fastest growing component of the ecological footprint, increasing by nearly 700% between 1961 and 2001. It also shows the largest disparity, with a 14-fold difference, between high and low income counties," said Dr Alan Leung, WWF Hong Kong Senior Conservation Officer. "The over-exploitation of these fuels is putting the whole of humanity under threat from climate change. We need to stop wasting natural resources and to redress the imbalance in consumption between the developing and industrialized worlds," "Our Earth is on alarming rate and the world is running up an ecological debt," continued Dr Alan Leung. "If the human race continues to use natural resources at the present rate, the debt will continue to grow and we will need another 1.3 planet earth to provide resources sustainably for human uses by 2050. But in reality, we only have one Earth and our natural resource may be depleted and the damage to the ecosystems may be irreversible."

To save the future of humans and the Earth's biodiversity, we have to reduce and ultimately eliminating the debt by living within the biocapacity of one planet. Policies and actions are required for debt reduction, including:

1. Increasing biocapacity of the Earth by protecting, conserving, and restoring ecosystems and biodiversity.
2. Lowering world population by providing respectful and equitable support for people who choose to have fewer children.
3. Reducing per person consumption of goods and services, and redressing the imbalance in consumption between the developing and industrialized worlds
4. Improving the resource efficiency with which goods and services are produced.

In 2002 report, Hong Kong had the same ecological footprint as Japan which ecological footprint was 4.3 global hectare per person or two times the world average. If the situation unchanged, we would need at least 100 times the existing land and sea area for Hong Kong to sustain. "Sustainable living and a high quality of life are not incompatible as long as we are mindful," said Dr Alan Leung. "For example, as an individual of the society, we should choose greener or renewable products and avoid wasting natural resources."

"While the Hong Kong Government is setting a long-term direction for Sustainable Development, reducing our ecological debt is our international obligation as a World City," add Dr. Alan Leung. "For example, strategies should be formulated for the development of renewable energy in Hong Kong. At the same time, we need to have a comprehensive conservation policy to effectively protect our nature resources, and restore the degraded ones, on our terrestrial, marine and freshwater environment."

WWF is also calling on governments to act on their commitments at the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development to significantly reduce the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Governments should also set national and regional targets for creating networks of protected areas, including new parks, which will help safeguard biodiversity as committed at the meeting of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity this year.