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SINCE the Earth Summit in Rio in 1992, the environment has become a major concern for people across the world. Climate warming, the pollution of freshwater reserves, the destruction of habitats and the disappearance of many living species have made us realise that far from freeing humankind from nature, our extraordinary economic growth has given us an unprecedented responsibility towards it.

We can no longer ignore the evidence of environmental erosion: the destruction of primary tropical forests, home to over half of the planet’s species; the shrinking of natural habitats due to demographic and urban growth; the slow demise of…

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