Human beings have fabricated the illusion that in the 21st century they have the technological prowess to be independent of nature. Bees underline the reality that we are more, not less, dependent on nature’s services in a world of close to seven billion people.

In our interdependent world, our neighbors are not only on our street, but can be ten thousand miles away on an island in rising seas.

If you take the hard numbers, then science is clearly telling us that we're running out of time.

A recent report by UNEP and Interpol estimated that between 50 to 90 per cent of logging in key tropical countries of the Amazon basin, Central Africa and South East Asia is being carried out by organized crime. This threatens not only attempts to eradicate poverty and deforestation but also efforts to combat climate change.

Our vision of a sustainable future will only materialize through action taken today.

Real results will emerge when we realize the power of combined individual actions and voices to effect change.

Many of our partners are here and this is where the world's expertise on environment and the wider sustainability agenda often and regularly gathers. Here is where international initiatives frequently start and are nurtured. Geneva is one of the hubs where global programs can be often most effectively managed.

The only ones to profit from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing are the owners of the fishing fleets who remain hidden behind veils of corporate secrecy.

We are at a pivotal moment in our shared history. The global goals of a healthy planet, social equality, and economic opportunity for all are within reach. But we cannot prevaricate.

We have a responsibility to first understand how climate change impacts all peoples of the world. Then, we must consider the individual and collective choices and actions that can move us toward a sustainable future.

The way humanity manages or mismanages its nature-based assets, including pollinators, will in part define our collective future in the 21st century.

Including the value of natural resources and our social capital in national accounting is a vital step to achieve economic growth that is equitable and sustainable.