Ban wildlife markets to avert pandemics, says UN biodiversity chief

Warning comes as destruction of nature increasingly seen as key driver of zoonotic diseases

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The United Nations' biodiversity chief has called for a global ban on wildlife markets - such as the one in Wuhan, China, believed to be the starting point of the coronavirus outbreak - to prevent future pandemics.

Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, the acting executive secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said countries should move to prevent future pandemics by banning "wet markets" that sell live and dead animals for human consumption, but cautioned against unintended consequences.