Nagoya 2010: Nations agree historic deal to save nature

Chisa Fujioka and David Fogarty Reuters AlertNet 29 Oct 10;
* New targets to conserve fisheries, reefs and forests
* Nagoya Protocol sets rules on sharing genetic resources
* Breakthrough boosts mood for Cancun climate talks

NAGOYA, Japan, Oct 30 (Reuters) - Nearly 200 nations agreed on Saturday to a sweeping plan to stem the loss of species by setting new 2020 targets to ensure greater protection of nature and enshrine the benefits it gives mankind.

Environment ministers from around the globe also agreed on rules for sharing the benefits from genetic resources from nature between governments and companies, a trade and intellectual property issue that could be worth billions of dollars in new funds for developing nations.

Agreement on parts of the deal has taken years of at times heated negotiations, and talks in the Japanese city of Nagoya were deadlocked until the early hours of Saturday after two weeks of talks.

Delegates agreed goals to protect oceans, forests and rivers as the world faces the worst extinction rate since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago.

They also agreed to take steps to put a price on the value of benefits such as clean water from watersheds and coastal protection by mangroves by including such "natural capital" into national accounts.

Services provided by nature to economies were worth trillions of dollars a year, the head of the U.N. Environment Programme, Achim Steiner, said in a statement, adding businesses from banks to miners were key in halting rapid loss of ecosystems.

"These goals recognize and value the irreplaceable benefits that nature provides to people in the form of food, fuel, fiber, fodder and freshwater that everyone depends on," Andrew Deutz, director of international government relations for U.S.-based The Nature Conservancy, told Reuters.

Delegates and greens said the outcome would send a positive signal to troubled U.N. climate negotiations that have been become bogged down by a split between rich and poor nations over how to share the burden in curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

U.N. climate talks resume in Mexico in a month.

"TORTUOUS NEGOTIATIONS"

"We're delighted there's been a successful outcome to these long and tortuous negotiations and I think it shows that these multilateral negotiations can deliver a good result," said Peter Cochrane, head of Australia's delegation in Nagoya.

Delegates agreed to a 20-point strategic plan to protect fish stocks, fight the loss and degradation of natural habitats and to conserve larger land and marine areas.

They also set a broader 2020 "mission" to take urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity.

Nations agreed to protect 17 percent of land and inland waters and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas by 2020. Currently, 13 percent of land and 1 percent of oceans are protected for conservation.

The third part of the deal, the Nagoya Protocol on genetic resources, has taken nearly 20 years to agree and sets rules governing how nations manage and share benefits derived from forests and seas to create new drugs, crops or cosmetics.

The protocol could unlock billions of dollars for developing countries, where much of the world's natural riches remain.

"The protocol is really, really a victory," Brazil's Environment Minister Izabella Teixeira told reporters.

It will also mean changes for businesses.

"This isn't a boring protocol. It will regulate billions of dollars for the pharmaceutical industry," said Tove Ryding, policy adviser for biodiversity and climate change for Greenpeace.

Karl Falkenberg, head of the European Commission's environment department, said it would also fight poverty.

"We finally have something that is going to give great results for the environment, for the poor people," who will be able to earn money in exchange for access to genetic materials, he said after the talks ended.

Delegates and greens had feared the ill-feeling that pervaded climate negotiations after last December's acrimonious meeting in Copenhagen would derail the talks in Nagoya.

"There's been a mood of change. I think the failure of the Copenhagen meeting last year perhaps has meant a new realisation that we need to more flexible in negotiations," said Jane Smart, director of conservation policy for the International Union for Conservation of Nature. (Editing by Jon Boyle)

FACTBOX-World agrees how to share nature's riches
Reuters AlertNet 30 Oct 10;

Oct 30 (Reuters) - After some 20 years of talks, nearly 200 nations agreed on Saturday rules for sharing genetic resources, a step that could hand developing nations billions of dollars from drug, agri-resources and cosmetics firms.

The access and benefit-sharing pact aims to give nations much better control over resources, from trees to fungi and from fish to frogs, that can lead to cures for cancer or new crops more resistant to climate change.

Following are some details of the pact, called the Nagoya Protocol, which was a central focus of two weeks of U.N. talks in the Japanese city of Nagoya on saving nature. The talks ended on Saturday.

HISTORY

Fair sharing of genetic resources is a key goal of the Convention on Biological Diversity that went into force in 1993.

Voluntary measures were not adopted until 2002, and in 2006 a target was set: to agree on a legally binding treaty by 2010.

The issue is complex and controversial, and some pharmaceutical firms have said they fear it will be more expensive to develop new drugs and harder to get patents.

WHAT ARE GENETIC RESOURCES?

Under the Convention, genetic material refers to anything from plants, animals and microbes that can be inherited or passed on, while genetic resources means any genetic material of actual or potential value. Each nation has the sovereign right to own and manage its resources.

MAIN POINTS OF THE NEW PACT

-- Covers use of genetic material, such as research into and development of the genetic and/or biochemical composition of a genetic resource.

The new pact also defines the use of biotechnology, and the controversial area of derivatives, such as snake venom, tree sap and enzymes. Some countries feared this area would mean too much regulation of nature's resources, while developing nations saw it as a loophole that needed to be closed if, for example, a chemical derived from snake venom leads to a valuable new drug.

-- The final text sidesteps specific references to whether benefits from genetic resources will apply after the new protocol is ratified, or before the 1993 start of the Convention.

Some developing nations want to take into account benefits acquired historically, such as during colonial times or from new drugs derived from specimens collected years ago and now stored in university or museum vaults. Rich nations firmly opposed any treaty that would be retrospective.

-- It creates a global benefit-sharing mechanism for situations where benefits are derived "in transboundary situations or for which it is not possible to grant or obtain prior consent".

-- It says nations should take action to ensure the fair sharing of any benefits from genetic resources owned by indigenous groups.

-- It recognises the value of "traditional knowledge", so that local communities' knowledge of forests and their products will be rewarded.

-- It creates a clearing house to share data, and outlines the rules of compliance and dispute resolution as well as rules to monitor the use of genetic resources, such as the creation of designated check points.

National agencies, research institutions or other bodies could monitor use. (Writing by David Fogarty, editing by Tim Pearce)

FACTBOX-UN plan to protect animals, plants by 2020
Reuters AlertNet 29 Oct 10;

Oct 30 (Reuters) - A U.N. meeting agreed on Saturday new 2020 targets for combating the increasing extinction of animals and plants caused by threats such as pollution, climate change and forest clearance.

The United Nations says the world has failed to reach a goal, set in 2002, of a "significant reduction" in biological diversity losses by 2010. Some U.N. studies say the world is facing the worst losses since the dinosaurs vanished 65 million years ago.

Negotiators at the end of two-weeks of talks in the Japanese city of Nagoya agreed a formal 20-point plan to protect biodiversity by 2020.

Following are details of the draft plan:

OVERALL "MISSION"

Nations agreed on a 2020 deadline to take urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity to ensure ecosystems are resilient and continue to provide essential services.

20-POINT PLAN:

* RAISE AWARENESS OF BIODIVERSITY BY 2020 AT THE LATEST

1) Make people aware of biodiversity and what they can do

2) By 2020 at the latest, ensure that the values of biodiversity are integrated into national accounts and local development plans

3) Eliminate, phase out or reform incentives, including subsidies, harmful to biodiversity

4) Ensure sustainable production and consumption

* CUT PRESSURES ON BIODIVERSITY BY 2020

5) The rate of loss and degradation of natural habitats, including forests, is at least halved or where feasible brought close to zero

6) Fish and invertebrate stocks are managed and harvested sustainably, with recovery plans in place for all depleted species

7) Manage agriculture, aquaculture and forestry sustainably

8) Cut pollution to levels that do not damage nature

9) Control or eradicate invasive alien species

10) By 2015, minimise pressures on coral reefs and other ecosystems hit by climate change and ocean acidification

* SAFEGUARD ECOSYSTEMS BY 2020

11) Conserve 17 percent of land areas and 10 percent of coastal and marine areas

12) Prevent extinction and decline of known threatened species and improve their conservation status

13) Genetic diversity of cultivated plants, farm animals and non-domesticated wild relatives is maintained.

* RAISE BENEFITS TO ALL FROM BIODIVERSITY BY 2020

14) Safeguard and restore ecosystems vital for health, livelihoods and well-being

15) Make ecosystems more resilient -- including by restoring at least 15 percent of degraded ecosystems. This will help store carbon dioxide in plants and slow desertification

16) Ensure fair "access and benefit sharing" of genetic resources.

* IMPROVE PLANNING BY 2020

17) By 2015, all countries have adopted a "national biodiversity strategy and action plan"

18) Promote ways to tap traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities relevant to protecting biodiversity

19) Improve and apply biodiversity knowledge, science and technologies

20) By 2020, financing should increase "substantially from current levels" to fully carry out the strategic plan. (Compiled by Alister Doyle in Oslo and David Fogarty in Nagoya; Editing by Alison Williams)

Biodiversity talks end with call for 'urgent' action
Richard Black BBC News 29 Oct 10;

The UN biodiversity meeting in Japan has agreed a 10-year plan aimed at preserving nature.

Targets for protecting areas of land and sea were weaker than conservation scientists wanted, as was the overall target for slowing biodiversity loss.

Most developing countries were pleased with measures aimed at ensuring they get a share in profits from products made from plants and other organisms.

Nations have two years to draw up plans for funding the plan.

"This agreement reaffirms the fundamental need to conserve nature as the very foundation of our economy and our society," said Jim Leape, director-general of WWF International.

"Governments have sent a strong message that protecting the health of the planet has a place in international politics, and countries are ready to join forces to save life on Earth."

The meeting settled on targets of protecting 17% of the world's land surface, and 10% of the oceans, by 2020.

These are regarded as too small by many conservation scientists, who point out that about 13% of the land is already protected - while the existing target for oceans is already 10%.

Many poorer countries say they do not have the resources to implement such targets.

"The forest and the other biological resources we have serve the general interests of the global environment," said Johansen Voker from Liberia's Environmental Protection Agency.

"So we expect assistance to be able to effectively conserve our environment for the common good of the world community."

Developed nations agreed to establish mechanisms for raising finance to help them - which could amount to hundreds of billions of dollars per year by 2020.

They are required to have a plan to raise such sums in place by 2012, when Brazil will host the second Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro.

The sums might appear astronomical - particularly when you recall that governments are already committed to raising $100bn (£125bn) per year for climate change by 2020 - but French Ecology Minister Chantal Jouanno said it was not impossible.

"If you think that to solve the problem of biodiversity only public funds can be sufficient, it's just a dream, because the amounts necessary are so huge," she told BBC News.

"It needs to be private funds too - and not only voluntary private funds but... binding funds [from business].

"You are making profits from the use of biodiversity; so it's logical and it's legitimate that those profits return to biodiversity."

The trickiest issue - the agreement on sharing profits from the development of products drawing on genetic resources in developing countries, known as Access and Benefit-Sharing (ABS) - was resolved after developed nations, led by the EU, made some crucial concessions.

In particular, they agreed that the measures should cover anything made from this genetic material, technically known as "derivatives".

They had previouslty argued for a much narrower scope.

'More work needed'

Conservation groups warned that the agreement as it stands does not guarantee the erosion of species and ecosystems will be stopped.

"Participants may be leaving Nagoya, but they still need to be working to save life on this planet from Monday morning," said Jane Smart, head of the species programme at the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

"We need to harness the energy of this meeting, where we've seen huge and significant commitments in terms of reinvigorated political will as well as real money from the likes of Japan, and in terms of pledges to increase protected areas from the likes of Guinea Bissau."

Japan looks set to emerge with credit, having steered the tough negotiations through its final hours.

"What the Japanese government really wants to do here is to get agreement so they can be proud of the Nagoya CBD," said Wakao Hanaoka, oceans campaigner with Greenpeace Japan.

"What is really needed, since the Japanese government has just started its role of chairing the CBC until 2012, is to keep doing what they have promised to international society."

This meant, he suggested, taking effective conservation in the marine environment - including backing cuts in fisheries for threatened but lucrative fish such as bluefin tuna.

Biodiversity talks: Ministers in Nagoya adopt new strategy
Chair of the UN biodiversity talks gavelled into effect a set of targets for 2020 to at least halve the loss of natural habitats
Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk 29 Oct 10;

Environment ministers from almost 200 nations agreed late tonight to adopt a new United Nations strategy that aims to stem the worst loss of life on earth since the demise of the dinosaurs.

With a typhoon looming outside and cheering inside the Nagoya conference hall, the Japanese chair of the UN biodiversity talks gavelled into effect the Aichi Targets, set to at least halve the loss of natural habitats and expand nature reserves to 17% of the world's land area by 2020 up from less than 10% today.

Fish and other aquatic life should be provided with greater refuge, under the Aichi Targets — as the plan is named, after the region around Nagoya — which including a widening of marine protected zones to 10 per cent of the world's seas, an increase from barely 1 per cent today.

Frantic late-night negotiations also saw the UN's COP10 biodiversity conference adopt a new treaty, the Nagoya Protocol, to manage the world's genetic resources and share the multibillion-dollar benefits with developing nations and indigenous communities.

Despite concerns that targets are inadequately funded and not sufficiently ambitiousto reverse the decline of habitats and species, most organisers, delegates and NGOs expressed there was relief that negotiations had avoided the friction and fracture of last year's climate talks in Copenhagen. "This is a day to celebrate in terms of a new and innovative response to the alarming loss of biodiversity and ecosystems," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the UN Environment Programme.

"It is an important moment for the United Nations and the ability of countries to put aside the narrow differences that all too often divide in favour of the broader, shared issues that can united peoples and nations."

Under the Aichi Targets, all signatories to the UN Convention on Biodiversity,are supposed to draw up national biodiversity plans. Together, their voluntary actions are supposed to halt over-fishing, control invasive species, reduce pollution minimise the pressure on coral reefs from ocean acidification, and halt the loss of genetic diversity in agricultural ecosystems.

Perhaps the most remarkable breakthrough, was the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol which lays down ground rules on how nations should cooperate in accessing and sharing the benefits of genetic resources — including plants, fungi and pathogens.

Governments have been discussing this subject for 18 years, but it has been held up until now because it ran across issues of trade, health, traditional medicine and science and pitted multinational pharmaceutical companies against indigenous communities.

Tthe Nagoya Protocol, will see governments considering ways to provide recompense for genetic material and traditional medical knowledge collected in the past that is now being used, patented and sold. This is likely to be done through a special fund for developing nations that could be used for conservation or scientific research centres.

The protocol will come into effect in 2020 and needs to be ratified by signatory nations. Several delegates, including those from Cuba, Bolivia and Venezuela, expressed unease that the protocol inadequately safeguarded the benefits due to developing nations, but said they would not stand in the way of a consensus.

Another area of frustration was financing. The conference did not specify how much money would be provided to achieve its goals to save habitats and species. Instead governments agreed to draw up a funding plan, with sums, baselines and other details, by 2012.

The host country, Japan, has pledged $2bn this week for biodiversity while the UK and France have earmarked smaller sums for related projects. However, most developed countries were unable to pledge major funding. Conservation groups said it was vital that significant extra finance was put in place to halt the demise of nature.

"We were disappointed that most rich countries came to Nagoya with empty pockets — unable or unwilling to provide the resources that will make it possible for the developing world to implement their ambitious targets." said Jim Leape, director general of WWF International.

But Leape welcomed the overall deal. "This agreement reaffirms the fundamental need to conserve nature as the very foundation of our economy and our society. Governments have sent a strong message that protecting the health of the planet has a place in international politics and countries are ready to join forces to save life on Earth."

Other groups emphasized that implementation was the key. "Participants may be leaving Nagoya this Friday but they still need to be working to save life on this planet from Monday morning," said IUCN's Director of Conservation Policy, Jane Smart. "There is a momentum here which we cannot afford to lose — in fact we have to build on it if we stand any chance of success in halting the extinction crisis." In earlier reports the IUCN noted that a fifth of the world's vertebrates are under threat and the die-off of all species is at a level not seen in 65 million years.

Goodwill and compromise: Nagoya biodiversity deal restores faith in UN
After the failure of the Copenhagen climate talks, a successful agreement to protect biodiversity has provided a timely morale booster
Jonathan Watts guardian.co.uk 29 Oct 10;

In the long run, the biodiversity deal scratched out in Nagoya in the early hours of this morning is intended to benefit habitats and species such as tigers, pandas and whales. But in the short-term, the biggest beast to get a reprieve may well prove to be the UN itself.

After the misery, disappointment and anger of last year's climate talks in Copenhagen, the body was fiercely criticised and the entire multilateral negotiating process called into question. It seemed time-consuming, prone to grandstanding and dominated by selfish national interests rather than pressing global concerns.

At the start of this week, the talks in Nagoya looked likely to become another chapter in the same sorry story. But since then, there has been an impressive – and ultimately successful – willingness to work.

Square brackets (which denote areas of disagreement) have been steadily whittled away from the negotiating texts. Pragmatism has been more evident than ideology. Delegates actually seemed willing to listen to the advice of scientists warning of the perils of inaction.

Some key goals have been set, including a plan to expand nature reserves to 17% of the world's land and 10% of the planet's waters. For a scarred veteran of the Copenhagen or Tianjin climate talks, the extent of the progress, goodwill and readiness to compromise during these past few days has been pleasantly shocking. Right up to the final hour, there have been moments when the talks appeared on the verge of collapse. But negotiators have been flexible enough to skirt around the danger zone.

This is no accident. Ahead of this event – and not wanting to repeat the breakdown of last year's talks - the EU negotiating team was given a wider mandate. The same may be true of other nations.

That alone cannot explain why the results of Nagoya and Copenhagen were so different. Other factors include the smaller scale of this event and the expectations for it. There was less superpower pride and influence at stake: the United States is not a signatory and China has been relatively low-key. Brazil and the EU have bent over backwards to secure a deal. China and India have shown a willingness to compromise. Even Bolivia and Cuba complained but did not block.

The Japanese hosts also deserve a great deal of credit for the smooth organisation, though at times they have been almost comically hospitable in breaking up finelypoised negotiating sessions for food, drink and music receptions.

But the most important difference may be in implementation. One of the reasons why climate negotiations are so tetchy is because rival nations want stringent checks in place to make sure everyone complies and on course to realise their goals to reduce carbon emissions.

That is sadly not true for biodiversity targets, which tend to be vaguely worded and voluntary. Nature cannot complain if it gets cheated. This is a major reason why the last set of UN biodiversity goals were nowhere near being realised.

The drafters of the new Nagoya protocol say such lessons have been learned so a tighter road-map will be put in place that ties funds to progress, mobilises private finance as well as public funds and sees nature in terms of benefits to be shared rather.

One of the great achievements of this conference has been to highlight the fact that biodiversity is not just about saving a few cute animals, but about preventing risks to entire ecosystems, economies and ultimately human life. As a result, bird-lovers and tree-huggers have started to find common cause with insurers and investors.

In the conference centre last night, the mood was one of relief more than euphoria. But many expressed hope that this deal may provide momentum for the climate talks at Cancún next month. That seems optimistic.

It is too early too say whether Nagoya marks a turning point for UN multilateralism, let alone life on Earth. But for both, it is at least a much-needed morale booster.

UN seals historic treaty to protect ecosystems
Karl Malakunas Yahoo News 30 Oct 10;

NAGOYA, Japan (AFP) – A historic global treaty to protect the world's forests, coral reefs and other threatened ecosystems within 10 years was sealed at a UN summit on Saturday.

Rich and poor nations agreed to take "effective and urgent" action to curb the destruction of nature in an effort to halt the loss of the world's biodiversity on which human survival depends.

Delegates from 193 countries committed to key goals such as curbing pollution, protecting forests and coral reefs, setting aside areas of land and water for conservation, and managing fisheries sustainably.

"This is a day to celebrate," UN Environment Programme chief Achim Steiner said straight after the accord was struck early on Saturday morning following nearly two weeks of tense talks in the central Japanese city of Nagoya.

Hosts Japan hailed the agreement, Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara saying: "From now on, our country will contribute to the protection of biodiversity and positively support developing countries' efforts to implement the Nagoya protocol, with technologies and knowledge our country has."

Delegates and green groups also said the accord offered hope that the United Nations could help to solve the planet's many environmental problems, particularly after the failure of climate change talks in Copenhagen last year.

One of the most significant elements of the accord was a commitment to protect 17 percent of land and 10 percent of oceans so that biodiversity there could thrive.

Currently only 13 percent of land and one percent of oceans are protected.

Nevertheless, Greenpeace expressed disappointment at the new targets, which delegates said were lowered on the insistence of China and some other developing countries.

There were other limitations to the Nagoya pact -- including that the United States was not a signatory as it is one of the few countries not to have ratified the UN's Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

But while some green groups said the 20-point plan was not as ambitious as hoped, most still welcomed it as a historic step towards united global action in tackling biodiversity problems and raising awareness about the issue.

"Governments have sent a strong message that protecting the health of the planet has a place in international politics and countries are ready to join forces to save life on Earth," WWF International director general Jim Leape said.

Greenpeace International stood out among the major environment groups with a critical stance.

Greenpeace had been pushing for 20 percent of oceans to be conserved, as a step towards an eventual target of 40-percent preservation.

"Alarm bells have been ringing for decades, and developed nations have been hitting the snooze button by delaying both action on and funding for environmental protection," Greenpeace said in a statement.

The accord was clinched after a last-minute breakthrough on an 18-year stand-off over "fairly" sharing the benefits and knowledge of genetic resource riches that are found mostly in developing countries.

Brazil, home to much of the Amazon basin and its global treasure trove of resources, had insisted throughout the summit that it would not agree to the 20-point strategic plan unless there was also a deal on genetic riches.

Brazil and other developing countries argued powerful nations and companies should not be allowed to freely take genetic resources such as wild plants to make medicines, cosmetics and other products for huge profits.

They had been battling developed countries -- where most of the drug and other companies that enjoy the benefits of genetic resources are based -- over the issue since the CBD was formed at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992.

The European Union led developed nations in finally agreeing to the so-called Access and Benefits Sharing Protocol to ensure success on the 20-point strategic plan.

The legally binding protocol will ensure countries with genetic resources enjoy some of the profits of the assets' commercial development.

However many details of the protocol, such as how much this may cost pharmaceutical companies and developed nations, were left for later negotiations.

UN chiefs told the opening of the summit that forging a global consensus on protecting nature was vital to stop the mass extinction of animals and plant species.

Nearly a quarter of mammals, one-third of amphibians and more than a fifth of plant species now face the threat of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Pressure will only grow with the world's human population expected to rise from 6.8 billion to nine billion by 2050.

UN nature meeting agrees on land, ocean protection
Malcolm Foster, Associated Press Yahoo News 29 Oct 10;

TOKYO – Representatives to a U.N. conference on biodiversity agreed early Saturday to expand protected areas on land and at sea in the hopes of slowing the rate of extinction of the world's animals and plants and preventing further damage to its ecosystems.

After marathon negotiations that stretched hours past the designated time, delegates also managed to overcome divisions between rich and poor countries to agree to share access to and the benefits of genetic resources such as plants whose extracts have been developed into medicines — a key sticking point that had threatened to doom the entire two-week meeting in Nagoya, southwest of Tokyo.

Scientists estimate that the Earth is losing species 100 to 1,000 times the historical average, pushing the planet toward the greatest extinction age since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago. They warn that unless action is taken to prevent biodiversity loss, extinctions will spike and the intricately interconnected natural world could collapse with devastating consequences, from plunging fish stocks to less access to clean water.

Delegates from 193 countries at the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity agreed to protect 17 percent of the world's land areas and 10 percent of oceans by 2020. Those gains will be difficult to ensure, however, since there is no way to enforce these agreements, and many poor nations lack the funds to manage reserves properly.

Currently, 13 percent of the world's land areas and less than 1 percent of marine areas are protected — which can range from natural parks or marine sanctuaries to areas where there is sustainable fishing or land use.

The series of agreements — which each required a consensus — squeaked through after hours of debate, relieving many delegates who feared the conference would suffer the kind of collapse that befell U.N. climate talks last year. Participants stood and cheered when it was announced that agreements had been reached in all areas, attendees said.

"We are very glad for this, very happy with the outcome," said Braulio Ferreira de Souza Dias, Brazil's Secretary for Biodiversity and Forests. "We had some doubts, but in the end we were confident we would get results."

Some developing countries balked at how to pay for larger protected areas, and delegates agreed to set up a fund from developed nations and other donors by the convention's next meeting in India in 2012, Dias said.

Eager to make the meeting a success, host Japan on Thursday offered $2 billion to help developing nations reach the goals set by the conference.

Environmental groups welcomed the agreement, but said many of the targets were not bold enough.

"At a certain point in the evening, it looked like it was all going to fall apart, so this is good news," said Nathalie Rey, an oceans policy adviser with Greenpeace International. "I would've liked to have seen more ambitious targets, especially on protected areas."

Japan proposed a compromise text Friday to break a logjam in the prickly area of sharing genetic resources, called access and benefits-sharing, or ABS, in U.N. parlance.

Developing nations and indigenous peoples argue they haven't benefited from the bounty of their resources, such as native plants, that have been developed into drugs by wealthy Western pharmaceutical companies. But in the end, delegates reached an agreement to set up a system that seeks to share these profits and benefits more equitably.

Some 193 governments have joined the biodiversity convention. Only three have not: the United States, Andorra and the Holy See.

Nagoya meeting site: http://www.cbd.int/cop10/

Convention on Biological Diversity site: http://www.cbd.int/

Historic New Treaty Lays Out Ground Rules for Sharing Benefits of World's Wealth of Genetic Resources
UNEP 30 Oct 10;

Governments Also Agree Strategic 10 Year-Plan with Targets and Timetables to Combat Loss of Planet's Nature-Based Resources

Nagoya, 29 October 2010-After close to 20 years of discussion and debate, governments from across the globe today agreed to a new treaty to manage the world's economically-central genetic resources in a far fairer and more systematic way.

The approval, to establish an International Regime on Access and Benefit Sharing of Genetic Resources (ABS), came on the last day of the convention on biological diversity meeting taking place in Nagoya, Japan.

The treaty, a Protocol to the main convention, lays down basic ground rules on how nations cooperate in obtaining genetic resources from animals to plants and fungi.

It also outlines how the benefits, arising for example when a plant's genetics are turned into a commercial product such as a pharmaceutical, are shared with the countries and communities who have conserved and managed that resource often for millennia.

Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary General and Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) which administers the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said: "This is a day to celebrate in terms of a new and innovative response to the alarming loss of biodiversity and ecosystems. And a day to celebrate in terms of opportunities for lives and livelihoods in terms of overcoming poverty and delivering sustainable development".

"It is also an important moment for the United Nations and the ability of countries to put aside the narrow differences that all too often divide in favour of the broader, shared issues that can unite peoples and nations. I would like to congratulate all governments concerned for bringing a fresh vision to the more intelligent management of life on Earth," he added.

The new Nagoya Protocol on ABS lays out rules on how derivatives—substances and compounds derived from genetic resources- will be dealt with under an ABS regime.

It also addresses the issue of traditional knowledge and pathogens—for example how developed countries may in emergency situations obtain a flu virus in order to develop a vaccine to counter a possible epidemic.

The Protocol also says governments should begin considering ways of recompensing developing countries for genetic material that may have been collected years, decades even centuries ago- if in future they become used to produce say a new pharmaceutical or crop variety.

One option may be to put a proportion of any profits arising into a special fund to be used by developing countries in order, for example, to build conservation or scientific capacity.

Strategic Plan

Governments also adopted a new strategic plan including targets for addressing biodiversity loss to be met b y 2020.

For example, governments agreed to increase the extent of land-based protected areas and national parks to 17 per cent of the Earth's surface up from around 12.5 per cent now, and to extend marine protected areas to 10 per cent, up from under one per cent currently.

Other elements of the extensive plan include, by 2020, lifting the extinction risk from known threatened species.

The meeting agreed to study resource mobilization for assisting developing countries to meet the new targets in the plan based on a methodology that relates support to needs and gaps.

Other decisions included taking a 'precautionary approach' in terms of emerging areas such as geo-engineering in order to combat climate change and the development of synthetic biofuels.

Mr. Steiner said the two-week meeting, building on 10 months of the UN's International Year of Biodiversity, had also delivered a sea change in the global understanding of the multi-trillion dollar importance of biodiversity and forests, freshwaters and other ecosystems to the global economy and to national economies, and in particular for the "GDP of the poor".

The case has been built via The Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB), an initiative hosted by UNEP, requested by G8 environment ministers as well as developing country ones and supported by governments including Germany, Norway and the United Kingdom.

In Nagoya the final, global TEEB report was launched as countries including Brazil and India announced they would be launching their own national TEEB studies.

A parallel and supporting partnership was also announced by the World Bank in collaboration with organizations including UNEP to 'green' national accounts in order to mainstream 'natural capital' within national economic and development plans.

The project is initially set to be implemented in between six and 10 countries including Colombia and Mexico.

"Conservation and the sustainable use of biodiversity need catalytic, strategic, serious and targeted investments from the public sector that reflects also the links between biodiversity and for example climate change. But ultimately the billions—if not hundreds of billions- required will only come when public policies and incentives are aligned with nature in a way that unleashes private sector investments".

"This perhaps is the ultimate litmus test with natural capital given equal standing with human and financial capital. Indeed history may show that this may be the real success and legacy of 2010 and of the Nagoya meeting," he added.

"Nagoya has certainly set new benchmarks upon which the nations of the world will be judged by their citizens. This time round these targets need to be an inspirational and drivers of fundamental change towards a sustainable, Green Economy for the many and not just the few," said Mr. Steiner.

"I would like to thank and congratulate Ryu Matsumoto, the Minister of Environment of Japan and his team, for their hospitality but above all their determination, leadership and skill in navigating nations to this positive and potentially transformational conclusion," he added.