Global wildlife populations will decline by 67% by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to reduce human impact on species and ecosystems, warns the biennial Living Planet Index report from WWF (World Wide Fund for Nature) and ZSL (Zoological Society of London). From elephants to eels, here are some of the wildlife populations most affected by human activity. Here: The maned wolf is among the large mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado that are threatened by the increasing conversion of grasslands into farmland for grazing and growing crops. (Photo by Ben Cranke/Nature Picture Library/Alamy Stock Photo)

Dhofar Region, Oman. Much of Oman is desert, but the Arabian Sea coast in the Dhofar region represents a startling difference in climate. This coastal region catches the monsoon rains, or khareef, during the summer months. Drenching rains fall primarily on the mountainous ridge that separates the lush, fertile areas along the coast from the arid interior, recharging streams, waterfalls and springs that provide plentiful water supplies in the fertile lowlands for the remainder of the year. Image taken by Landsat 5 on April 2, 2005. (Photo by USGS/NASA)

A young protester takes part in a protest near Tahrir Square to call for the fall of Islamist President on January 24, 2012 in Cairo. (Photo by Mohammed Abed/AFP Photo via The Atlantic)

Chris Renshaw has recently been awarded the 2015 Africa Geographic “Photographer of the Year” award. Chris tells that his love “for anything wild and adventurous came from a deep rooted attachment to the African continent. This image shows that timing, a bit of anticipation, and luck allowed this incredible moment in time to be captured”. (Photo by Chris Renshaw)

Kia Vue of St. Paul sports long nails at the Minnesota Hmong New Year celebration Saturday, November 29, 2014, at the Saint Paul RiverCentre in St. Paul, MN. The annual Minnesota Hmong New Year celebration will be held at the Saint Paul RiverCentre November 28–30. Hmong New Year has a deep cultural significance to the Hmong community. It is a celebration of accomplishments during the past year and a time to welcome a new beginning. (Photo by David Joles/Star Tribune)

“The Chernobyl disaster was a catastrophic nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukrainian SSR, which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow. An explosion and fire released large quantities of radioactive contamination into the atmosphere, which spread over much of Western USSR and Europe. It is widely considered to have been the worst nuclear power plant accident in history, and is one of only two classified as a level 7 event on the International Nuclear Event Scale (the other being the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster)”. – Wikipedia (Photos by Alexandr Strannik, August 1986; Source: LiveJournal)

Rihanna arrives at the GQ Men Of The Year Party at Chateau Marmont Hotel on November 13, 2012 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage)

A Chinese worker makes handmade firecrackers in the traditional way on February 1, 2005 in Liuan, Anhui Province, China. Chinese have the tradition of setting off firecrackers to celebrate the lunar New Year. (Photo by Cancan Chu/GettyImages)