Harry warns conservation is ‘fundamental to our survival’

The Duke of Sussex has said conservation is “fundamental to our survival” and should not be dismissed as “hippy”, in a column in a national newspaper.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph on Monday, Harry said that to make progress humans needed to overcome “greed, apathy and selfishness” and that it was essential to learn from past mistakes to protect the world’s most valuable assets.

The Duke also warned of “vast ecosystems” set ablaze in Africa, communities destroyed for short-term gain, and said that a “natural order” between humans and wildlife must be restored.

He added: “This may well sound hippy to some.

“But we cannot afford to have a ‘them or us’ mentality. Humans and animals and their habitats fundamentally need to co-exist or within the next 10 years our problems across the globe will become even more unmanageable.

“Nature teaches us the importance of a circular system, one where nothing goes to waste and everything has a role to play.

“If we interfere with it, rather than work with it, the system will break down.

“Conservation used to be a specialist area, driven by science.

“But now it is fundamental to our survival and we must overcome greed, apathy and selfishness if we are to make real progress.”

The column comes ahead of his visit to Malawi’s Liwonde National Park on the eighth day of a tour of southern Africa to highlight conservation and anti-poaching work.

In the Daily Telegraph, Harry said his role had given him an opportunity to “meet, listen and learn from those who live in some of the world’s harshest conditions and understand what it is they so desperately need to thrive”.

The Duke also highlighted environmental catastrophes including overfishing, and elephant and rhino poaching.