In a once-in-a-decade opportunity, policymakers from 196 countries are gathered in Montreal to tackle Earth’s “silent crisis” — the massive collapse of biodiversity. The United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, known as COP15, may get less attention than climate summits, but it’s just as critical: Climate change and the destruction of nature are intertwined . Conservation News sat down with Jill Hepp, Conservation International’s senior director of international policy, to discuss what COP15 could mean for building a more sustainable relationship between people and nature. What is COP15 and why does it matter? Jill Hepp: It’s a global summit that brings nations together to negotiate the  Global Biodiversity Framework  — essentially the world’s most important tool to protect nature. The framework’s draft includes 21 targets that are a roadmap for protecting Earth’s life support systems. It matters because biodiversity is declining at rates unprecedented in human history.…