At WWF-Canada, we have strengthened our analysis of the Canadian Living Planet Index by requiring higher standards for data quality and by collecting additional data, including more recent data records.
The Living Planet Index (LPI), provided by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), is a biodiversity indicator used to track the state of wildlife at global, national or local scales.
The Canadian Living Planet Index (C-LPI) is a national indicator of wildlife abundance over time and is calculated using multiple datasets for different populations of species.
To learn more about the Canadian Living Planet Index, how it’s calculated, and what it tells us, read the technical report.
Data on trends in species populations were obtained from over 300 sources and included in the calculation of the 2020 Canadian Living Planet Index (C-LPI). Data was retrieved from peer-reviewed scientific literature, public databases and government assessments.
Some sources are long-term monitoring studies while others comprise short-term projects that addressed a particular research question. The majority of the latter were derived from articles found in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
The Living Planet Index (LPI) has a benchmark value of 1.0 in 1970. An increase in the index represents an increase in wildlife population abundances and is evident as an upward trend in the index value over time. The magnitude of the change in the Living Planet Index is reported as a percentage—if the index value increases from 1 to 1.2, that’s an increase of 20 per cent. The opposite is true for decreases in abundance: A decrease from 1 to 0.8 is a decrease of 20 per cent; a decrease from 1 to 0.2 is 80 per cent. For any finding within five per cent of the baseline, the population is considered stable; anything greater is considered an increase or decrease in population.
For additional information about methodology and data, please contact [email protected]
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