* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation. An ambitious international agreement to protect biodiversity is within reach - but if it is to succeed, business and civil society must play their part, alongside governments The crisis facing nature has never been more apparent. The costs to mankind of our degradation of the natural world have never been more evident. Fortunately, the beginnings of a meaningful response – in the form of a post-2020 global biodiversity framework – is close at hand. But, for that framework to succeed, governments must ensure broad participation in its formal processes. Non-state actors – sub-national governments, business and the financial sector, academia, civil society, youth and indigenous peoples and local communities – have a critical role to play in delivering biodiversity outcomes.