David Attenborough backs 'last chance' push to study Australian biodiversity – video

The Australian Academy of Science and its New Zealand counterpart, the Royal Society Te ApArangi, are launching a 10-year plan to study and name unknown species, warning that a sound understanding of biodiversity is critical in the face of a global extinction crisis. Broadcaster Sir David Attenborough has gotten behind the study, saying, 'We cannot understand the natural world without the taxonomic system.' He adds, 'I depend on the work of these scientists'