[h5p id=”16″]
Vocabulary:
Declaration: a declaration is a document saying that something is true, or that someone will try to do something. Once the document is written, people sign it if they agree with it.
Biodiversity: biodiversity refers to the variety of plants and animals that we have living in our environment. If there are many different plants and animals, then we have good biodiversity.
Crisis: a crisis is a problem.
Responsibility: a responsibility is a duty.
Answers:
New Zealand has joined the Sharm El-Sheikh Declaration this week. The declaration says that we must control how our economy affects biodiversity. This includes controlling the effects of the energy industry, the mining industry, and the manufacturing industry.
The Conservation Minister, Ms Sage, says the global biodiversity crisis is as serious as climate change, and needs more action, and New Zealand needs to do more to protect biodiversity. “With many of New Zealand’s native plants and wildlife found nowhere else in the world, we have an international responsibility to safeguard them for their own sake,” Ms Sage said.
Ms Sage said that taking care of biodiversity is not only about taking care of forests and rivers, but we also have to change the way we live, and the way our economy works so that biodiversity is protected.