Aizawl: Mizoram environment, forests & climate change minister Lalthansanga said on Thursday economic growth and environmental conservation must go together and that we must protect biological diversity as the foundation of the future of human beings, not just as a mere duty.Stating this at an event in observance of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2025, Lalthansanga said conservation must be kept a priority keeping in mind new risks that are emerging with the changing times.The International Day for Biological Diversity 2025 was observed in Aizawl, organised by the by Mizoram State Biodiversity Board and National Biodiversity Authority, with the theme ‘Harmony with Nature and Sustainable Development’. The Mizoram State Biodiversity Board had organised high-school level painting competition, open photography competition and signboard design competition for biodiversity management committees to mark the occasion.The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity was established in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to work towards the conservation of biological diversity. India isa party to this convention and is among the 196 countries that have signed the agreement. The UN has been celebrating May 22 as ‘International Day for Biological Diversity’ since 2000 in commemoration of this convention.