TV, Internet, affect the protection of biodiversity: A (AFP)

Manila (AFP) - fascination of young people with television, Internet, video games and other electronic entertainment is making it more difficult to protect the world's biodiversity, a UN official warned Tuesday.

Because many young people is urbanized and alienated nature, they may not realize the value of protecting natural ecosystems and species, said Ahmed Djoghlaf, Executive Secretary of the United Nations on biological diversity.

"Our children are behind their computers, their SMS, video games, watching TV. "They live in a virtual world, and we have reconnect them with nature," Djoghlaf said biodiversity forum in Manila a Southeast Asia.

"They do not see how a potato is cultivated." "They just see potatoes to a shelf in the supermarket."

He cited polls showing children in developed countries spend 95 percent of their free time watching television or on the computer and only 5% on the outside. Another survey said 20 percent of American children had never exceeded a tree, said Djoghlaf.

Arguing that lack of education is one of the greatest threats to the preservation of natural heritage, Djoghlaf cited a study of Europe in 2009 which found that 60 percent of the population did not know the meaning of the word "biodiversity".

"How can protect you something that you do not know." He asked how can protect you something you've never seen? "."

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Nations United is a biodiversity treaty in July 2012 (AFP)

Manila (AFP) - will probably ratified a global treaty on the exploitation of genetic resources in July 2012, the Executive Secretary of the biological diversity of the United Nations said Tuesday.

So far, 25 countries have signed Protocol Nagoya but 193 countries to is committed to support when it was adopted in October 2010, said Ahmed Djoghlaf official.

"In July 2012, 50 will be ratified," said Djoghlaf from a biodiversity forum, in the Philippines.

He said that the Protocol, forged at a Conference in the Japan, come into effect as a treaty once it is ratified by 50 countries.

The agreement sets out new rules for the collection of genetic resources as wild plants to make medicines, cosmetics and other products.

It also calls for a fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources between the company that develops new products and the country from which resources - as a plant - wild.

Djoghlaf said ratification of the Protocol being slowed by legal complications and problems of translation, but that there were more than enough support that it between the countries.

"All Governments have different ratification process." It is is not a lack of political will, "he told AFP."

He said that the Protocol could encourage countries to preserve their natural resources, in the hope that they would win if the drugs or other products are manufactured from their.

He cited the example of the vaccine against avian influenza originates with an organization of China, but that has been developed by a Swiss company and added that 76% of cancer drugs originate from natural or partly natural sources.

Djoghlaf said that many countries did not realize the value of their biological diversity, leading to its waste and destruction.

He cited studies of the economics of ecosystems and biodiversity, a group one-supported of researchers which found that approximately 3 trillion dollars - biodiversity is lost each year.

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