Senior United Nations officials on Friday warned that species are becoming extinct at an alarming rate and called for greater awareness of the world's biodiversity and the role it plays in people's lives. "From frogs to gorillas, from huge plants to tiny insects, thousands of species are in jeopardy," U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for World Environment Day which takes place on June 5. The Secretary General stressed the need to stop the "mass extinction" and raise awareness about the vital importance of the millions of species that inhabit the planet's soils, forests, oceans, coral reefs and mountains. "I appeal to everyone -from Kigali to Canberra, from Kuala Lumpur to Quito - to help us sound the alarm. Get involved, speak out, learn and teach others. Show leadership and help clean up," the U.N. chief said. For his part, the head of the U.N. Environment Program, Achim Steiner, said government's pay little attention to the economically-important services provided by ecosystems such as forests and freshwaters and called for "a far more intelligent management of the natural world," The U.N. Convention on Biodiversity notes that the richer the diversity of life, the greater the opportunity for medical discoveries, economic development and the ability to adapt to new challenges such as climate change.
