Lambertini also emphasized the scientific evidence pointing towards a close link between nature's destruction and rising incidences of infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19.

"There has been new, shocking evidence about the condition of nature on the planet -- One million species driven to extinction, a two-thirds global decline in wildlife populations in less than 50 years, 90 percent of fish stocks overfished in the ocean."

However, he also said on a positive note that the pandemic had also led to a new awareness to better protect the environment.

"All this together is really beginning to create a cultural shift so that nature conservation is not just an ecological issue, it's actually also an economic issue, a development issue, and a human health issue."

"Because at the end of the day, we understand that we depend on nature more than nature actually depends on us," he stressed.