The global cost of replacing insect pollination is around $190bn every yearYou don't have to be an environmentalist to care about protecting the Earth's wildlife.
Just ask a Chinese fruit farmer who now has to pay people to pollinate apple trees because there are no longer enough bees to do the job for free.
And it's not just the number of bees that is dwindling rapidly - as a direct result of human activity, species are becoming extinct at a rate 1,000 times greater than the natural average.
The Earth's natural environment is also suffering.
In the past few decades alone, 20% of the oceans' coral reefs have been destroyed, with a further 20% badly degraded or under serious threat of collapse, while tropical forests equivalent in size to the UK are cut down every two years.
11 October 2010 : BBC News :: read more ::
Climate Conference in Mexico Puts Off Major Decisions for Future Conferences:
VOAvideo | December 11, 2010 - The latest United Nations Climate Change Conference drew to a close in Cancun, Mexico, Saturday with agreements on a number of issues, including the creation of a world fund to help poor nations deal with global warming. Participants said the meeting was a success, in that it kept the process going with hopes of achieving a comprehensive, legally binding treaty at a future conference. But, as VOA's Greg Flakus reports from Cancun, there are still some political roadblocks ahead
