Sustain among 600 wildlife campaigners for Call 4 Nature

Almost 600 conservation champions from 50 countries have backed an urgent call for global action to halt the decline in nature, as a major new report by international scientists reveals that more than a million species are at risk of extinction.

The open letter is addressed "Dear world leaders" and states:

"There is still time to protect what is left and to start restoring nature. But to do that, we must radically change the way we live, including how we use energy to power our societies, grow our food, and manage our waste. This is an immense task but many of the solutions are already at hand. Each of us has a role to play in bringing about this transformational change.  But we need you, our political leaders, to lead − and to set us on a path to a future where people and nature thrive."

The Call 4 Nature is organised by WWF, who are a member of the Sustain alliance. Other Sustain members have signed including:

• Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB)
• Permaculture Association
• Green Alliance

The letter coincides with the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services global assessment report. Written by an independent global scientific body on biodiversity of more than 130 governments the report paints an alarming picture of species extinctions, wildlife population declines, habitat loss and depletion of ecosystem services − adding to the existing wealth of evidence that we are losing nature at a dramatic and unsustainable rate.