Wild species support half of world’s population, report finds

Reef fish at a market in Jimbaran, Bali. Little is wasted in catches from small fisheries, while millions of tonnes a year are discarded in large-scale fishing. Photograph: Paul Hilton/Earth Tree

Wild plants, animals, fungi and algae support half of the world’s population but their future use is threatened by overexploitation, according to a new assessment by leading scientists.

From the 10,000 known wild species that humans harvest for food to the firewood that one in three people need for cooking, nature is key to the livelihoods and survival of billions of people in developed and developing countries, says a new UN report.