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Developed countries have agreed to double the funding to support efforts in developing States towards meeting the internationally agreed biodiversity targets, including the goals of the Strategic Plan for biodiversity 2011-2020.
Governments of various States have agreed to increase the funding in support of actions to halt the rate of loss of biodiversity at the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity.
The mega event ended here on Saturday.
The Saragasso Sea, the Tonga archipelago and key corals sites off the coast of Brazil are among a range of marine areas to receive special attention by governments as part of renewed efforts to sustainably manage the world's oceans.
Many of the areas are beyond national jurisdictions and receive little or no protection at present.
Other key decisions taken at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11) include new measures to factor biodiversity into environmental impact assessments linked to infrastructure and other development projects in marine and coastal areas.
Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity, said: “These results, coming in a period of economic crisis, demonstrate that the world is committed to implementing the CBD. We see that governments are moving forward in implementation and seeing biodiversity as an opportunity to be realised more than a problem to be solved.’’
Jayanthi Natarajan, Union Minister of Environment and Forests and President of the COP, said: “The present economic crisis should not deter us, but on the contrary encourage us to invest more towards amelioration of the natural capital for ensuring uninterrupted ecosystem services, on which all life on earth depends.’’
“The UN biodiversity conference in Hyderabad has taken forward the renewed momentum, forged two years ago in Nagoya,’’ said United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UN Environment Programme Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“Countries have sent a clear signal and delivered additional commitments underlining the fact that biodiversity and ecosystems are a development priority and central to a transition to an inclusive Green Economy,’’ added Steiner.
“Mobilising the necessary financial resources from the public and private sector needed to ensure achievement of the 2020 targets remains a challenge — but here in India, many nations including developing economies have signalled their determination and sense of urgency to seize the opportunities by providing much needed additional support,’’ Steiner said.
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