UN calls for immediate action to save life on Earth

THE world must act immediately to stop the rapid loss of animal and plant species that allow humans to exist, the United Nations warned yesterday at the start of a major summit on biodiversity.

Delegates from the 193 members of the UN’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) are gathering in the central city of Nagoya, about 350km west of Tokyo, to try to work out strategies to reverse a man-made mass extinction.

“Business as usual is no more an option when it comes to life on Earth... we need a new approach, we need to reconnect with nature and live in harmony with nature,” said CBD executive secretary Ahmed Djoghlaf said.