Everyone must commit to preserving the Earth’s “invaluable and irreplaceable wildlife,” the UN chief said on Wednesday in his message for World Wildlife Day.
“Each year…we celebrate the beauty and wonder of our planet’s wild plants and animals,” reminded Secretary-General António Guterres, describing the day as an opportunity to celebrate the many beautiful and varied forms of wild fauna and flora and “to raise awareness of the multitude of benefits that their conservation provides to people.”
Beyond a moral duty to sustain the Earth, Mr. Guterres reminded that “humanity depends on the essential products and services that nature provides, from food and fresh water to pollution control and carbon storage”.
“By damaging the natural world, we threaten our own well-being,” he added.
Today, all around the world, wildlife is in peril as a quarter of species face extinction – in large part, because we have destroyed nearly half of the ecosystems in which they live.
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