UN biodiversity conference outcome a huge achievement: India

Government said developed countries have 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.

"Outcome has shown that this Ministry and our negotiators ... Have come out with tremendous vision, initiative and success as the President of the CoP and achieved a difficult target that we had set for ourself which is the pledge of doubling biodiversity funds from developed-developing countries especially in the backdrop of the economic downturn," Environment Minister Jayanthi Natarajan said.

"I think, it is a huge achievement. Because, It doesn't bear on biodiversity alone. It will have bearing on climate change, it will have bearing on other international negotiations," she told reporters here after conclusion of the 11th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity at Hyderabad.

The Environment Ministry said in a release that 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, it said.

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.

The conference also saw the launch of the Hyderabad Call for Biodiversity Champions. The programme will accept pledges from governments and organisations in support of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity. The government of India this week committed over USD 50 million as part of the programme.