HUMANS risk living in an "empty world" stripped of its wildlife, a top UN boss has warned.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the UN's biodiversity chief, said humanity will have "given up on the planet" if world leaders can't reach an agreement this year to halt the mass extinction of wildlife.

A previous UN report found that one in eight species on Earth is at risk of extinction due to human activities.

If allowed to continue, this wide-scale loss of wildlife will have "catastrophic" consequences for society, Mrema cautioned.

"People's lives depend on biodiversity in ways that are not always apparent or appreciated," she told the Guardian on Monday.

"Human health ultimately depends on ecosystem services: The availability of fresh water, fuel, food sources.

2 Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the UN's biodiversity chief, said humanity will have "given up on the planet" if world leaders can't reach an agreement this year to halt the mass extinction of wildlife Credit: Rex Features

"All these are prerequisites for human health and livelihoods."

Mrema was speaking ahead of the Davos World Economic Forum, which begins in Switzerland this week.

The loss of plant and animal species will be a key topic of discussion and has been highlighted as a bigger risk to our planet than infectious diseases and terror attacks.

Last year, the UN revealed that one million of the planet's eight million species were threatened with extinction.

Climate change explained Here are the basic facts... Scientists have lots of evidence to show that the Earth’s climate is rapidly changing due to human activity

Climate change will result in problems like global warming, greater risk of flooding, droughts and regular heatwaves

Each of the last three decades have been hotter than the previous one and 17 of the 18 warmest years on record have happened during the 21 st century

century The Earth only needs to increase by a few degrees for it to spell disaster

The oceans are already warming, polar ice and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and we’re seeing more extreme weather events

In 2015, almost all of the world's nations signed a deal called the Paris Agreement which set out ways in which they could tackle climate change and try to keep temperatures below 2C

Up to 680 vertebrate species – that's any animal with a spine – have been driven to extinction by humans since the 16th century, researchers warned.

To make things worse, figures showed that rates of species extinction were speeding up. It led to warnings that humanity was driving the sixth mass extinction event in Earth's history.

Speaking to the Guardian, Mrema called on world leaders to commit to concrete action to stop deforestation, pollution and climate change.

"Business, local communities, civil society, the youth, all of us led by governments must take action," Mrema said.

2 Humans risk living in an "empty world" stripped of its wildlife, a top UN boss has warned Credit: Getty Images - Getty

"We have been talking of action for many years. Really, we need transformative action to make a difference."

Mrema is responsible for spearheading a Paris-style UN agreement on the protection of nature.

The draft calls for a commitment to protect at least 30 per cent of the planet, controls on invasive species and pollution from plastic waste and excess nutrients to be reduced by 50 per cent.

Published last week, it will be negotiated by officials later this year.

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Humans more likely to go extinct this year than you are to be struck by lightning.

A shocking UN report revealed last year that humans are putting one million animal species at risk of extinction.

Here are some of the animals at risk of extinction and how we might save them.

Are you worried about the mass extinction of Earth's wildlife? Let us know in the comments!

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