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UN protects human life, sustainability through biological diversity

BEIRUT, Dec 11 (KUNA) -- The United Nations (UN) stressed importance Monday of uniting efforts with all nations in order to protects the biological diversity and the natural resources on Earth.
The absence of such diversity would result in harming the human life and its sustainability.
The United Nations Information Center (UNIF) in Beirut, Lebanon said on its bulletin, which tackled, among other things, sustainable development, the 15th list regarding the protection of terrestrial ecosystems as well as repairing it, and enhancing its usage at a sustainable level.
The bulletin also entailed the sustainable management of forests, combating desertification, halting land degradation, reversing its direction, and stopping the loss of biological diversity.
The biological diversity, ranging between the genetic formation of plants and animals, reaching the cultural diversity form a main pillar in protection of human life and contribute in making it more sustainable, UNIC said.
Forests cover more than 30 percent of the Earth surface and play a key role in offering food security and combating the climate change, as well as embracing 80 percent pf animals, plants and insects species, it added.
The forests' plants form more than 80 percent of the human nutrition needs, and offer five types of grains, which makes 60 percent pf the nutrition energy intake, the statement said.
Every one dollar spent on sustainable development of forests would contribute in saving USD 7.5 to 200 of water treatment costs, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reported.
A total of 13 million hectares of forests are lost on an annual basis that would lead to desertification of 3.6 billion hectares and affects 1.5 billion people worldwide, UNIC added.
It called on protections and restoration of terrestrial ecosystems, and freshwater ecosystems and its services, especially forests, wet lands, mountains, and dry lands, to guarantee its usage at a sustainable level according to the international agreements.
It stressed on the importance of exerting ll possible efforts to boost sustainable development for all types of forests, as well as halting its elimination, and restoring the deteriorated ones.
Kuwait and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are the most affected nations by the desertification phenomenon, regarding their geological locations.
Kuwait's Public Authority of Agriculture affairs and Fish Resources (PAAF) indicated on the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" last June offering extraordinary care to face this phenomenon, which forms a main obstacle that hampers the social and economic development.
PAAF also announced conducting partnerships with regional and international organizations as well as establishing environmental projects that limits the desertification like building nature reserves and conducting forestry projects. (end) wsm.kns.lb