Ms Hoa: Nam, you went to Cuc Phuong National Park last weekend, didn‘t you?

Nam: Yes, that’s right. It was an amazing trip. This old forest is home to thousands of different kind of plants, insects, and animals. I really liked the colourful butterflies and the thousand-year-old tree.

Ms Hoa: Yes, Cuc Phuong National Park has a very rich ecosystem.

Mai: What's an ecosystem, Ms Hoa?

Ms Hoa: It's a community that has living things, like flora and fauna. Flora refers to plants and fauna refers to animals, including tiny organisms, like bacteria. Ecosystems also include non-living things, like sunlight, air, soil, and water.

Nam: How important are ecosystems to life on our planet, Ms Hoa?

Ms Hoa: Healthy ecosystems are essential for human health and survival because they provide us with goods such as food, energy, raw materials, clean water, and air.

Mai: So we should protect our ecosystems, shouldn't we?

Ms Hoa: That's right. Unfortunately, many ecosystems around the world are being lost, damaged, or destroyed because of climate change, pollution, and overuse of natural resources. It’s very important to protect and restore them for future generations. We don't want our planet to lose even more biodiversity, do we?