Biodiversity protection starts from agriculture, says UN chief

Efforts to prevent the loss of biodiversity should start from agriculture, said UN Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon Thursday in a message on the International Day for Biological Diversity.

"This Day serves as a reminder of the importance of the Earth's biodiversity, and as a wake-up call about the devastating loss we are experiencing as irreplaceable species become extinct at an unprecedented rate," Ban said.

"In any attempt to address this problem, agriculture should be viewed as a starting point," he said, citing the dire existence of crops and domesticated livestock.

About a fifth of domestic animal breeds are at risk of extinction, with an average of one lost each month. Of the 7,000 species of plants that have been domesticated over the 10,000-year history of agriculture, only 30 account for the vast majority of the food we eat every day.

"Relying on so few species for sustenance is a losing strategy, " Ban cautioned.