The topic of my speech today is: Protect biodiversity and build a

beautiful home together. May 22 is International Biodiversity Day, a

memorial day with the theme of caring for all things and caring for

life. The protection and sustainable use of biological diversity has

become a central issue in the field of mankind and the environment.

So what is "biodiversity"? Biodiversity includes ecosystem diversity,

species diversity and genetic diversity. Biodiversity is the result of

millions of years of development and evolution of life on earth, and

it is the material basis for human survival.

Human beings get all the food, many medicines and industrial

raw materials they need from biodiversity. Biology provides a source

of food for mankind. Crops, poultry and livestock, which are basic

food for mankind, are all derived from organisms. Biodiversity is a

necessary condition for maintaining the relative balance of the

ecosystem. Biodiversity provides a large number of goods and

services for the continuation of our lives. It is the interaction

between various life forms and the interaction with the external

environment that enable all species, including us humans, to survive

on this planet.

However, in the past century, many species are disappearing at

a rate 50-100 times faster than the rate of natural extinction, and it is

predicted that this rate will increase dramatically. According to

current trends, an estimated 34,000 plant species and 5,200 animal

species, including one-eighth of the world’s birds, are on the verge

of extinction. While the disappearance of individual species has

attracted our attention, the disintegration, degradation and complete

loss of forests, wetlands, coral reefs and other ecosystems have

become the most serious threat to biodiversity.

It is estimated that there are more than 3-10 million species of

living things on the earth, but there are only 1.5 million species that

can be investigated so far, and only a small part of them have been

studied and used by humans. Many species have become extinct

before they can be named. If effective measures are not taken

immediately, mankind will face severe challenges. China is one of

the countries with the richest biodiversity. Taking higher plants as an

example, there are about 30,000 species in China, about 18,000

species in the United States and Canada, and only 12,000 species in

Europe as a whole. However, among the 640 endangered species

listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered

Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, China accounts for 156 species,

about 25%. Therefore, the research, protection, and sustainable and

rational use of biological diversity are of urgency.

Facing the nationwide crisis of biological species, what can we,

as ordinary citizens, do for biodiversity conservation? The most

obvious thing is to oppose, supervise, and stop poaching and picking

rare wild animals and plants. No trading, no killing.