Scientists have warned that human activities and climate change are threatening ecosystems and are causing a decline in animals, plants, and other species. They are calling for urgent action at COP 15 to contain the deterioration, calling it the last chance for nature.
Nature is declining at an alarming rate. We've never seen that in history. 1 million species are now threatened with extinction, said Ms Lin Li, senior director of global policy and advocacy at the World Wildlife Fund WWF International.
Since 1970, global wildlife populations have declined by 69 per cent. She said that our relationship with nature is dangerously unbalanced.
In the buildup to the conference which takes place from December 7 to 19 UN officials and experts stressed the need for a Paris-style agreement on biodiversity.
They are pressing for a treaty similar to the landmark global climate agreement adopted at the UN Climate Change ConferenceUN Climate Change Conference in Paris in 2015, which helped drive increased global awareness of the threat from climate change.
More than a hundred nations including Germany, Japan and Britain have called for a so-called 30 x 30 initiative, pledging the conservation aim of 30 per cent of nature by 2030.
According to Brian O'Donnell, director of Conservation Group Campaign for Nature, one of the main focuses of the global agreement is to protect and conserve 30 per cent of the world's lands and oceans by 2030.
An area-based conservation target will make sure habitat for wildlife is protected, as well as those natural systems that are important for preventing storms.