The United Nations’ chief of biodiversity is warning that nations have just two years to reach a broad global agreement to protect animal and plant species, or humanity will watch whole ecosystems collapse as species become extinct. The dire warning came ahead of a meeting by the U.N.'s 195 member states in Egypt this month, where they'll begin negotiating toward a new agreement to protect the world’s wildlife. In an interview with The Guardian, the U.N.'s Cristiana Palmer called the loss of biodiversity a “silent killer,” adding, “It's different from climate change, where people feel the impact in everyday life. With biodiversity, it is not so clear, but by the time you feel what is happening, it may be too late.” A pair of previous agreements since 2002 have failed to stop the planet’s worst loss of biodiversity since the demise of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.