"KUNMING, China - The global community must invest much more and raise the scale and speed of its pledges to protect nature and prevent species loss, a senior U.N. official said on Sunday on the eve of a new round of global biodiversity talks.

The first part of the twice-postponed "COP15" biodiversity negotiations begin in the southwestern Chinese city of Kunming on Monday, with the aim of generating momentum for an ambitious post-2020 agreement to reverse decades of habitat destruction caused by human encroachment and climate change.

David Cooper, deputy executive secretary of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity, told a briefing that ministers attending virtual meetings this week needed to show more ambition and give "clear political direction" to negotiators, who will thrash out a final deal in Kunming in May next year."

David Stanway reports for Reuters October 10, 2021. [2]

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"Nearly Half of Britain's Biodiversity Has Gone Since Industrial Revolution" (Guardian) [4]