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Sir David Attenborough has told Prince William that people have never been more "out of touch" with the natural world than they are today.

In an interview with the prince at the World Economic Forum, the naturalist warned: "We can wreck it with ease, we can wreck it without even noticing."

Sir David said people must care, respect and revere the natural world.

Heeding his words, the prince said: "Work to save the planet is probably going to largely happen on our watch".

Sir David, 92, said: "When I started 60 years ago in the mid-50s, to be truthful, I don't think there was anybody who thought that there was a danger that we might annihilate part of the natural world."

In his early career, he said, simply showing people a new animal on television would astound them.

Even then, he added: "Television in Britain in the 50s was only seen by a few million people in southern England."

Speaking in Davos, Switzerland, the Blue Planet and Dynasties narrator said: "Now we can go everywhere, we can go into the bottom of the sea, we can go into space, we can use drones, we can use helicopters, we can use macroworlds, we can speed things up, we can slow things down, we can film in the darkness - and so the natural world has never been exposed to this degree before."

His new series, Our Planet, due to air on Netflix, could reach 150 million people immediately, he said, "and go on being seen - by word of mouth".

Despite this, he said, with more people than ever living in towns, "the paradox (is) that there has never been a time when more people are out of touch with the natural world than there's now".

He warned: "It's not just a question of beauty or interest or wonder, it's the essential ingredient, essential part of human life is a healthy planet.

"We are in the danger of wrecking that".

He said that for a very long time people have viewed the natural world in opposition to the urban world.

"It is not, we are all one world," he said, adding that global leaders are beginning to see that everything we do has implications.

He said: "That fundamental, beautiful fact is now being recognised."

In his interview with the Duke of Cambridge, Sir David said it was "difficult to overstate" the climate change crisis.

He added: "We are now so numerous, so powerful, so all pervasive, the mechanisms we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening that we can exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it.

"We have now to be really aware of the dangers that we are doing.

"And we already know that of course the plastics problem in the seas is wreaking appalling damage on marine life - the extent of which we don't yet fully know."

Last year, Sir David said he was "astonished" by the response to Blue Planet II, which raised the issue of single-use plastics and the damage they were doing to the world's oceans.

'Great optimism'

Sir David was given a Crystal Award at the forum on Monday for his leadership in environmental stewardship.

Accepting the award, the veteran broadcaster urged leaders to come up with "practical solutions".

He told the prince: "The point is that we have this option ahead of us - we have to take the option to protect the natural world... that's where the future lies.

"There's a source of great optimism there, we have the knowledge, we have the power, to live in harmony with that natural world".

Prince William has previously described Sir David as having "the single most important impact in my conservation thinking".

Introducing Sir David, he said it was a "personal treat" to interview the broadcaster.

In a BBC tribute programme marking Sir David's 90th birthday in 2016, the duke called him a "national treasure".

He added: "I used to love, and I still do, but when I was a young boy, used to love turning on the television and watching David's programmes and really feeling like I was back out in Africa or I was learning about something magical and almost out of this planet."

The duke said: "There is something very reassuring about seeing David Attenborough on BBC One doing his documentaries. It is part of the national psyche now."

Sir David turned 90 in the same year as the Queen, and paid his own tribute at her official birthday celebrations at St Paul's Cathedral.

They also took part in an ITV documentary last year which looked at the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy project.

Sir David and the Queen, who were born just weeks apart, chuckled over a forlorn-looking tree in the Buckingham Palace grounds which the Queen suggested had been "sat on" at a garden party.

When Sir David suggested climate change might lead to "all kinds of different trees growing here in another 50 years", the Queen quipped: "It might easily be, yes. I won't be here though."

Prince William, who is patron of the Tusk conservation charity, has in the past warned over the impact of the ivory trade and wildlife trafficking.

In 2016, he urged the UK government to push ahead with a total ban on the ivory trade in a bid to protect elephants.

He also voiced concerns that the African elephant may have disappeared from the wild by the time his daughter Princess Charlotte is 25.

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We could wreck world, Attenborough warns

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Sir David Attenborough has told Prince William that people have never been more "out of touch" with the natural world than they are today. In an interview with the prince at the World Economic Forum, the naturalist warned: "We can wreck it with ease, we can wreck it without even noticing."

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David Attenborough on the future of the planet - BBC Newsnight

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What are the potential impacts of climate change for the UK?

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The government's latest climate change risk assessment identifies flood risk, and particularly flooding from heavy downpours, as one of the key climate threats for the UK

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This series brings together all documents relating to Impacts of climate change in the UK

This series focuses on the effect climate change is having on the UK.

Changes occur over long periods, and it is important to focus on long-term trends rather than individual years.

DECC publications included in this series provide data and summary reports on thermal growing season, surface temperature, sea level rise and precipitation.

Documents

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This series brings together all documents relating to Impacts of climate change in the UK This series focuses on the effect climate change is having on the UK. Changes occur over long periods, and it is important to focus on long-term trends rather than individual years.

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Signs of climate change damaging Scotland's landscapes are discovered in the North West Highlands.

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Flooding and storms in UK are clear signs of climate change, says Lord Stern

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Author of 2006 report says recent weather is part of international pattern and demonstrates urgent need to cut carbon emissions

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Illustrating some of the invasive species found in the UK that have caused detrimental effects to native British wildlife.
- Grey squirrel
- American Mink
- Signal Crayfish
- Rhododendron
- Japanese knotweed
etc.

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Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.

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Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.

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Another article on effects of habitat fragmentation

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Another article on effects of habitat fragmentation

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What is habitat fragmentation and what does it mean for our wildlife?

Habitat fragmentation is a major problem for wildlife in the UK and across the world. But what exactly does it mean and why is it such a concern?
What is habitat fragmentation?

Fragmentation is when parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller unconnected areas. This can occur naturally, as a result of fire or volcanic eruptions, but is normally due to human activity.

A simple example is the construction of a road through a woodland. For much of the wildlife that lives in the wood, the road is an obstacle that can only be crossed with difficulty, or not at all. A barrier has been created that effectively divides the wood. What was once one habitat has become two smaller habitats.

A road can be an impassable barrier for many species. (Photo: iStock/dmitry_7)

Woodland meets farmland - fragmentation means the proportion of edge habitat such as this has increased. (Photo: Alan Withington/WTML)

What are the effects of habitat fragmentation?

Habitat fragmentation can negatively impact wildlife in several ways:

Loss of total habitat area - The destruction of habitat leaves species with a smaller amount of space to find everything they need to survive. For example, ancient woodland now covers just 2% of the UK. This means the many species that rely on this irreplaceable habitat have limited space in which to live.

Reduction in habitat quality - Fragmented habitats are often reduced in quality. This is known as the 'edge effect'. As a habitat is fragmented into smaller sections, the proportion of edge - where one habitat meets another - increases. While some species can thrive along habitat edges, others struggle to survive. For instance, species that have evolved to live in the interior of a wood are less suited to its edge, where conditions are quite different. Examples of wildlife affected in this way are varied, ranging from birds like the treecreeper to lichens and mosses.

Increased extinction risk - Fragmentation limits wildlife mobility. Individuals struggle to move between habitat patches, which can lead to inbreeding and a loss of genetic diversity. This reduces the long-term health of a population, making it more vulnerable to disease and at greater risk of extinction.

Habitat fragmentation in action

The dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius) is a perfect example of a UK species affected by fragmentation. These tiny rodents spend most of their life among trees and can only travel small distances across open ground. As a result, the continued loss and damage of our native woodland and the hedgerows that once connected it has been disastrous.

Unable to move between the fragmented pockets of habitat that remain, dormice are confined to isolated areas. Cut off, populations are at risk from inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity. This has contributed to total dormice numbers falling by more than 50% since 1995 alone.

Better connecting our woods will be key if the dormouse decline is to be reversed. (Photo: MikeLane45/iStock)

Planting trees can help to combat habitat fragmentation. (Photos: Jill Jennings/WTML)

How can you help?

The Woodland Trust is addressing habitat fragmentation by taking a landscape-scale approach to conservation. This means we consider the role of woods and trees in the wider environment. We aim to achieve a network of woods and trees that is bigger, better and more joined up. To do this we are:

Fighting to prevent any loss of ancient woodland

Planting millions of native trees to buffer and extend ancient woodland, create new woodland, and improve the connectivity of fragmented habitat across landscapes.

You can help us combat habitat fragmentation by planting trees. Trees outside of woods can provide habitat in their own right. They also serve as 'stepping stones' for species to move through landscapes.

You can plant trees in your garden, or, if you want to plant at a school or in your local community, you can apply for our free tree packs.

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What is habitat fragmentation and what does it mean for our wildlife?

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Habitat fragmentation is a major problem for wildlife in the UK and across the world. But what exactly does it mean and why is it such a concern? Fragmentation is when parts of a habitat are destroyed, leaving behind smaller unconnected areas.

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- Loss of available habitat area
- Reduced patch sizes, becoming unable to support species
- Habitat and species dependent on that habitat become vulnerable to destruction
- Greater impact of "edge effect"
----- Edge effect: For example the edge of a forest habitat which varies in environmental effects, i.e. light intensity, wind speed, other species presence, etc.

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Really good paper illustrating effects that habitat fragmentation has on biodiversity

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Really good paper illustrating effects that habitat fragmentation has on biodiversity

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Established in 1964, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species has evolved to become the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of animal, fungi and plant species.

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Pond habitats in the UK are being lost due to increasing urbanisation...

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Pond habitats in the UK are being lost due to increasing urbanisation...