Al Morrison, the Director-General, Department of Conservation had made certain remarks at the Annual State of the Nation's Environment Address held at Lincoln University, saying that living in harmony with the systems of nature and living sustainably were not separated from the economy, but rather a key component of it.

The systems of nature form the base of any economy, and the economy stops to function when they stop functioning efficiently. Similarly, if they are destroyed, the economy gets destroyed simultaneously.

His speech came just before the UN Biodiversity Global Summit which was held late last month in Nagoya, Japan. This meeting led to many organisations publicising the still existing unsustainable and inequitable use of nature all over the world.

Prestigious organisations like Kew Gardens, London's Natural History Museum and the World Conservation Union (IUCN) are of the opinion that one out of every five plant species in the world is facing the threat of extinction. Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme warned that if no urgent action was taken to tackle the fast rising rate of biodiversity deterioration, most of the ecosystems underpinning the global economy will be destroyed.