Brussels, 22/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - A UN conference on biodiversity (COP11) finished in Hyderabad (India) on 20 October with governments agreeing to increase funds for halting the decline of biodiversity. The EU was very pleased that developed countries agreed to double funding by 2015 to developing countries in this field.
In a joint press release, Janez Potocnik, the European commissioner for the environment, and Sofoclis Aletraris, the president of the Council, welcomed the agreement on measures required to implement the global strategy approved in Nagoya in 2011 to tackle the loss of biodiversity. They declared that, “the EU is the biggest donor towards the protection of biodiversity and is particularly pleased that this disagreement has been settled to everyone's satisfaction”. In Hyderabad, the European Commission announced that it would be raising €18 million over a five year period for the “ Critical Ecosystem Partnership fund” (CEPF) to help NGOs and the private sector protect biodiversity across the globe. (AN/trans/fl)