United Nations, Apr 21 (IANS): The president of the 75th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA), Volkan Bozkir, pledged on Tuesday that efforts must be made to make progress on the "Road to Kunming," reaffirming his strong support for boosting biodiversity.

"We must continue to make progress on the 'Road to Kunming' and the goal of a 2020 Framework on Biodiversity," the UNGA president, or the PGA, said in his remarks addressed to the high-level event of Raising Ambition for Nature, organised by the Group of Like-Minded Megadiverse Countries, a group of countries that harbour the majority of Earth's species, Xinhua news agency reported.

The PGA said that biodiversity is very important and "the plain truth is we have not done enough to protect the environment and we need to do more," while calling for "the most pressing and urgent actions needed now for transformative change."

"Member states clearly expressed support for this in September 2020 at the UN's first Biodiversity Summit and through the Leader's Pledge that was released concurrently. This call has only been emphasized in the period since. We must continue to push for action and utilize the upcoming COP-level summits on climate; biodiversity; and desertification, land degradation and drought to underscore the importance of this issue," said the UNGA president.

"All these areas are interconnected, and we cannot miss the opportunity to tie them together," he added.

The PGA also called for efforts to "utilize the opportunity presented by Covid-19 and the largest socio-economic recovery the world has ever undertaken to strengthen our relationship with the natural world."

"For all its tragedy, Covid has also opened a window of possibility in the public and political spheres and given us the chance to push for transformational change. Let us use this and ensure that our recovery efforts are guided by the goals and targets of the 2030 Agenda, and help protect both 'life on land' and 'life below water,'" he stressed.