'We are at war with nature' – and we urgently need to make peace

In the battle to ensure humankind's survival on this planet, the loss of one species – like the Malayan tiger – might not seem like a lot. Yet every single animal and plant we lose forever is another step towards the extinction of the human race. — Filepic/The Star

I wrote in November 2022 about the outcome of COP27, the meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention in Egypt (Nov 6-18). In December 2022, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity met in Montreal, Canada (Dec 7-19). Ten thousand people registered for this COP and more than 30,000 attended COP27. That’s a lot of people – so why is progress on environmental issues so difficult?

At the Biological Diversity COP, a chilling warning was issued by the head of the United Nation’s Environment Programme: “As far as biodiversity is concerned, we are at war with nature. We need to make peace with nature. Because it is what sustains everything on Earth... the science is unequivocal,” said Inger Andersen.