Biodiversity: What is it, and how can we protect it?

The diversity of animals, plants and microorganisms on the planet is at risk due to factors such as changing land use, urbanization, overexploitation, pollution and climate change, the UN said on Wednesday, calling for action now to protect a million species from extinction. 

How well do you know the UN climate conference and the big issues under discussion? Here’s your chance to test your knowledge, with our UN News climate action quiz (answers at the bottom of the page).

With the latest UN climate report containing worrying evidence that climate change is having a major effect on all aspects of the environment, how can teachers help children and adults to sort through the growing mass of information, avoid being overwhelmed, and come to an understanding of the challenges, and potential solutions, to what the UN Secretary-General has called “an existential crisis”?