The human footprint, from development and deforestation to climate change, is behind a staggering, nearly 70 percent drop in global vertebrate wildlife populations from 1970 through 2016, according to a report from the World Wildlife Fund.

The Living Planet Report 2020 paints a bleak picture for the world's biodiversity, stating that "Global economic growth since WWII has driven exponential human improvements, yet this has come at a huge cost to the stability of Earth’s operating systems that sustain us."

"Humans are now overusing the Earth’s biocapacity by at least 56 percent," it adds.

Seventy-five percent of the Earth’s ice-free land surface has already been significantly altered, most of the oceans are polluted, and more than 85 percent of the area of wetlands has been lost. -- Living Planet Report 2020

The analysis looked at populations of nearly 21,000 species around the world. Vertebrate species' populations were down 68 percent, on average, while freshwater species have declined more, by an average of 84 percent, the report notes.

“This report reminds us that we destroy the planet at our peril—because it is our home. As humanity’s footprint expands into once-wild places, we’re devastating species populations. But we’re also exacerbating climate change and increasing the risk of zoonotic diseases like COVID-19. We cannot shield humanity from the impacts of environmental destruction. It’s time to restore our broken relationship with nature for the benefit of species and people alike,” said WWF-US President and CEO Carter Roberts.

The report blames land-use change for the loss of biodiversity, "particularly the conversion of pristine native habitats, like forests, grasslands, and mangroves, into agricultural systems." In the coming decades, unless its trend is altered, climate change stands to "become as, or more important than, other drivers," a release announced the report said.

Marco Lambertini, WWF's director general, said the world's nations must work to rescue biodiversity.

"Nature is declining globally at rates unprecedented in millions of years. The way we produce and consume food and energy, and the blatant disregard for the environment entrenched in our current economic model, has pushed the natural world to its limits. COVID-19 is a clear manifestation of our broken relationship with nature. It has highlighted the deep interconnection between nature, human health and well-being, and how unprecedented biodiversity loss threatens the health of both people and the planet," Lambertini wrote in an introduction to the report. "It is time we answer nature’s SOS. Not just to secure the future of tigers, rhinos, whales, bees, trees and all the amazing diversity of life we love and have the moral duty to coexist with, but because ignoring it also puts the health, well-being and prosperity, indeed the future, of nearly 8 billion people at stake."

Despite the gloomy analysis, WWF Global Chief Scientist Rebecca Shaw voiced optimism that the trends could be reversed.

“While the trends are alarming, there is reason to remain optimistic,” said Shaw. “Young generations are becoming acutely aware of the link between planetary health and their own futures, and they are demanding action from our leaders. We must support them in their fight for a just and sustainable planet.”