World’s Govts Agree To Double Resources For “Biodiversity Protection” By 2015

New Delhi, Oct 23, IRNA – Participants of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity agreed on Monday to double resources for “Biodiversity Protection” by 2015. During the meeting, the world’s governments have agreed to increase funding in support of actions to halt the rate of loss of biodiversity. Developed countries agreed to double funding to support efforts in developing states towards meeting the internationally-agreed Biodiversity Targets, and the main goals of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, said an official release issued here Monday. The Saragasso Sea, the Tonga archipelago and key corals sites off the coast of Brazil were among a range of marine areas to receive special attention by governments as part of renewed efforts to sustainably manage the world`s oceans agreed in Hyderabad. Many of the areas are beyond national jurisdictions and, as such, receive little or no protection presently. Other key decisions taken at the 11th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 11) included new measures to factor biodiversity into environmental impact assessments linked to infrastructure and other development projects in marine and coastal areas. “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 realized more than a problem to be solved,” said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. He added, “We now need to move forward in the next two years, under the able leadership of India, the COP 11 president, to consolidate this work and to advance further. I look forward to other pledges in support of the Hyderabad call for Biodiversity Champions that will allow us to realize our goals.” Meanwhile Jayanti Natarajan, Minister for Environment and Forests for India, 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 Program 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 Mr. Steiner. "Mobilizing 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 signaled their determination and sense of urgency to seize the opportunities by providing much needed additional support,” said Mr. Steiner. Developed countries also agreed at the conference to increase funding to support efforts in developing states towards meeting the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Using a baseline figure of the average annual national spending on biodiversity between 2006 and 2010, developed countries said they would double biodiversity-related international financial flows by 2015. The COP also set targets to increase the number of countries that have included biodiversity in their national development plans, and prepared national financial plans for biodiversity, by 2015. All Parties agreed to substantially increase domestic expenditures for biodiversity protection over the same period. These targets, and progress towards them, will be reviewed in 2014. For the first time, developing countries at COP 11, including India and several African states, pledged additional funds above and beyond their core funding towards the work of the CBD. Largest ever such conference organized in India. 170 countries including Iran participated. One of the most important outcomes of the CoP-11 is the commitment of the Parties to double the international financial flows for Bio Diversity by 2015. This will translate into additional financial flows to the developing countries to the tune of about US $ 30 billion equivalent to about Rs. 1,50,000 crore over the next 8 years./end