Efforts to reverse the worrying loss of Earth's dwindling natural resources received a substantial boost on Saturday when a U.N. conference in India agreed to double biodiversity aid to poor countries.Governments reached an early-morning deal after long nights of tough bargaining in Hyderabad, south India, that once again saw battle lines drawn between developing and affluent states.
In a week that saw 400 plants and animals added to a "Red List" of species at risk of extinction, negotiators clashed over the extent and timing of additional aid required to halt the decline in species and habitats that humans depend on for food, shelter and livelihoods.
In the end, they agreed to double biodiversity-related funding to developing countries by 2015, from a baseline of average annual aid in the period 2006-2010 -- and to maintain this level until 2020.
No figures were mentioned.
The deal requires at least 75 percent of recipient countries to have reported on their spending by 2015 and to draw up national biodiversity plans in return for the aid.
Canada told the closing plenary that it did not agree with the agreement reached because many recipient countries had failed to report on their biodiversity spending and needs, as agreed at an earlier meeting, but added it would not block the adoption.
