New Delhi, Feb. 14 -- Africa faces a critical challenge in balancing economic growth with the urgent need to conserve its rich biodiversity, according to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

Titled Economic development in Africa 2024, the report warned that the continent's biodiversity faces substantial risks from climate change, agricultural practices and resource extraction, which in turn influence its economic prospects.

As the most climate-vulnerable continent, Africa is experiencing increasingly frequent droughts, floods and rising temperatures, which are damaging ecosystems, destroying habitats and causing substantial biodiversity loss, the report said.

The report's authors emphasised t...