In a statement, the secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity of the UN Environment Program (UNEP) said, “Humans are part of the nature+s rich diversity and have the power to protect or destroy it.”

“Biodiversity, the variety of life on Earth, is essential to sustaining the living networks and systems that provide us all with health, wealth, food, fuel and the vital services our lives depend on. Human activity is causing the diversity of life on Earth to be lost at a greatly accelerated rate,” it explained.

The Year+s official launch will take place in Berlin on January 11. This will be followed on January 21 and 22 by the first major event of the International Year, a high-profile meeting at the Paris headquarters of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, which is expected to bring together heads of states, royalty and their representatives.

"If any part of the web suffers breaks down, the future of life on the planet will be at risk. That is why the UN General Assembly proclaimed 2010 as the International Year of Biodiversity," said former UNEP Executive Director Klaus Toepfer.

Ten species likely to be hardest hit by climate change are profiled in a new research report from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which maintains the authoritative Red List of Threatened Species.

The Arctic fox, leatherback turtle and koala are among these most vulnerable species and so are the beluga whale, clownfish, emperor penguin, quiver tree, ringed seal, salmon and staghorn corals.