Global wildlife population shrunk by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014, according to the World Wildlife Fund’s 2018 Living Planet report.
"Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions," the report warns.
The Living Planet Report, which publishes every two years, tracked more than 4,000 species of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians.
Declines are worst in the topics, according to the data, as South and Central American saw a 89 percent decrease. Also, freshwater species saw an 83 percent drop, threatened by factors including overfishing, pollution and climate change, WWF notes.
The report estimates that only a quarter of the world's land is untouched by humans who are increasing food production and use of natural resources. America is among the countries using the most natural resources, according to a WWF map showing North America and Canada consuming more than seven global hectares per person.
More: UN report: 'Unprecedented changes' needed to protect Earth from global warming
Marco Lambertini, WWF director general, is using the data as a call to action, saying this is the first generation that has a clear picture of human's impact on nature and has the ability to reverse the trends.
"We can be the founders of a global movement that changed our relationship with the planet, that saw us secure a future for all life on Earth, including our own," Lambertini said in the report's forward. "Or we can be the generation that had its chance and failed to act; that let Earth slip away."
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