Humans to push further into wildlife habitats across more than 50% of land by 2070 – study

A giraffe in Nairobi national park, where Kenya’s expanding capital is fragmenting and degrading wildlife habitats. Photograph: Amir Cohen/Reuters

Over the next 50 years, people will push further into wildlife habitats across more than half the land on Earth, scientists have found, threatening biodiversity and increasing the chance of future pandemics.

Humans have already transformed or occupied between 70% and 75% of the world’s land. Research published in Science Advances on Wednesday found the overlap between human and wildlife populations is expected to increase across 57% of the Earth’s land by 2070, driven by human population growth.