Nagoya Biodiversity Talks Flailing - No Money, No Agreement On Targets - BBC

[hatrack]

Conservation groups have expressed concern that a major UN conference on nature protection is stalling, with some governments accused of holding the process hostage to their own interest. Their warning comes halfway through the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) meeting in Nagoya, Japan.

During negotiations some countries have proposed weaker rather than stronger targets for protection, they say. Some developing countries say the West is not meeting their concerns.

"The most optimistic assessment is that we have not gone far towards a deal," said Muhtari Aminu-Kano, senior policy advisor with BirdLife International. "The main reason is that there are several delegations that are not showing the political will needed to break the deadlock here," he told BBC News. "It's your usual story - it's people putting their national interests far above the importance of biodiversity."

Having failed to meet the target set in 2002 of significantly reducing the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010, the draft agreement before this meeting contains a set of 20 targets. But there is fundamental division between those demanding tough pledges, such as ending biodiversity loss by 2020, and those who argue this is not possible. Another draft clause calls for a 100-fold increase in international financing on biodiversity, which would be raised principally in industrialised nations and primarily spent in the developing world

EDIT

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11609159

[pscot]

1. Blues for the damned Human race

But who will sing it?