'If we wreck the natural world, we wreck ourselves', David Attenborough warns of environmental crisis facing the planet

• Video report by ITV News Business and Economics Editor Joel Hills

Sir David Attenborough has warned it is difficult to overstate the environmental crisis facing the planet, as he was interviewed live on stage by the Duke of Cambridge.

The veteran broadcaster urged leaders to care for the natural world as he spoke with William at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The Blue Planet narrator stressed the "frightening" mechanisms humans have for destruction.

Sir David told the duke: "The future of the natural world is in our hands."

"Its not just beauty or interest it is the essential ingredient of human life is a healthy planet," he adds.

The broadcaster warns of the dangers of "wrecking" the whole planet.

"We are destroying the natural world and with it ourselves," he said.

Sir David added: "It is difficult to overstate it. We are now so numerous, so powerful, so all-pervasive, the mechanisms that we have for destruction are so wholesale and so frightening, that we can actually exterminate whole ecosystems without even noticing it."

He also discussed his new nature documentary Our Planet, saying streaming it on Netflix would allow it to be seen by millions of people around the world.

Describing the modern technology used in his documentary making, he said: "The facilities we now have are unbelievable. We can go everywhere.

"We can go to the bottom of the sea, we can go into space, we can use drones, we can use helicopters, we can speed things up and we can slow them down.

"So the natural world has never been exposed to this degree before."

He urged people "not to waste the riches of the natural world on which we depend" and to respect the planet by not throwing away food or power.

Sir David added: "Just care for the natural world, of which we are an essential part."

Second in line to the throne William described it as a "personal treat" to be interviewing Sir David.

The duke has spoken of his fondness for watching Sir David’s programmes as a child and previously described him as having "the single most important impact in my conservation thinking."

He revealed in Davos: "It’s a personal treat for me to be sitting here asking you questions.

"Normally I have to endure people asking me questions so it’s quite nice to be turning the tables for once."

One of Sir David’s favourite clips from Our Planet - dramatic footage of an Arctic glacier carving up and falling into the sea - was played during the Forum.

The naturalist said: "One of the most immediate dangers facing the planet today is rising temperatures… In the Arctic temperatures are rising very fast."

As Sir David discussed the difficulty in capturing the fast-moving glaciers on film, William joked they were "a bit like children - unpredictable".