Britain's Prince Charles claims society has "pushed nature into the background".
Britain's Prince Charles
The 65-year-old royal has made clear his views on sustainability in the past but has now insisted we put "an economic value" on nature in order to protect it.
He said: "I think above all else you have to - and I've been trying to say this for a long time - you have to put an economic value on what nature gives us.
"For so many years, hundreds of years, we've pushed nature into the background and we've exploited, we've taken, we've put nothing back.
"And we somehow imagine that we are separate from nature, it just exists somewhere else, that you go on exploiting."
The prince went on to say it's vital there is an "integrated approach" to farming between small and large firms because food manufacture by "gigantic corporations" will be bad for food supplies in the long-term.
Speaking to BBC Radio 4 for two editions of their programme 'On Your Farm' about biodiversity and rural communities, he said: "I happen to think the small farmer, the small holder, is absolutely crucial to the maintenance of food security.
"It can't all be done by gigantic corporations.
"Some of them try but a lot of them are not interested in biodiversity or culture or rural communities.
"So actually putting biodiversity at the heart of farming systems is absolutely crucial because of water supply and all the things that nature actually gives us in the long-term."
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