Baku: For millions across Africa and the developing world, the biodiversity crisis is not an abstract problem - it's the soil that no longer yields bountiful harvests and the fish that no longer return to coastal waters, according to the UN.

According to Azerbaijan State News Agency, the world spends 30 times more money destroying nature than protecting it, and Africa often lacks the necessary resources to address the crisis. The head of the UN's Biodiversity Convention warned this week at a major scientific forum in Nairobi about the dire challenges faced by the continent. Biodiversity, which refers to the variety of life on Earth, plays a critical role in maintaining natural ecosystems and supporting human survival through food and medicine.

'Thanks to biodiversity, we have food. Biodiversity gives us clean water. It helps us fight climate change. It makes us more resilient,' said Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, to UN News. Africa, which houses 25 percent of the world's biodiversity, has lost about 24 percent of its species since the pre-industrial period.

The continent is uniquely impacted by biodiversity loss as many people heavily rely on its natural resources for their livelihood. Ms. Schomaker pointed out that climate change is the single biggest driver of this crisis, and Africa is particularly vulnerable to climate shocks. Despite efforts to combat this, massive government subsidies for fossil fuels and private industrial spending around the world continue to exacerbate the problem, as warned by the UN Environment Programme earlier this year.

Ms. Schomaker highlighted that rising temperatures, invasive species, pollution, and overexploitation of land and water deplete vital resources that rural and coastal communities depend on for sustenance and clean water. The recent meeting of the UN's Subsidiary Body on Scientific, Technical and Technological Advice identified biodiversity loss as a problem. The Subsidiary Body on Implementation, meeting until 12 August in Nairobi, aims to develop solutions.

Negotiators are working on embedding biodiversity into national decision-making, engaging financial institutions, and raising the necessary funds to close the gap. 'We have a very solid understanding of where we are,' Ms. Schomaker stated. 'And now it is taking this understanding of where we are and translating it into recommendations on how we can move forward faster.'

Despite alarming figures, reports submitted to UNEP by 125 countries demonstrate strong global engagement in addressing the crisis. UNEP emphasizes that everyone has a role in protecting biodiversity, whether by planting trees, creating insect havens, or avoiding harmful chemicals.

The recommendations from the two Nairobi conventions will inform Member States' negotiations and decisions at COP17, the biennial meeting of parties to the Biodiversity Convention, beginning on 19 October. This year in Yerevan, Armenia, countries will review progress toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at COP15 as a roadmap to reverse biodiversity loss and promote harmony with nature.

'That is our biggest challenge: How can we turn this around?' Ms. Schomaker said. 'How can we make everybody understand that biodiversity matters for them - that destroying biodiversity means you essentially destroy what you are building your lives on, and then make the right decisions.'