Landmark deal a boost for biodiversity

A landmark deal to protect more of the world's threatened species and environments has been struck after a marathon debate.

Delegates from more than 190 countries, including the UK, met in Nagoya, Japan, to agree a programme to conserve global biodiversity and the natural habitats that support the most threatened animals and plants.

This comprises 20 goals, which include increasing the area of protected land in the world from 12.5 per cent to 17 per cent, and the area of protected oceans from 1 per cent to 10 per cent, by 2020.

Talks had been taking place at the United Nations Convention on Biodiversity for two weeks before the agreement was made.

After late-night negotiations, the conference also adopted a new treaty, the Nagoya Protocol, to manage the world's genetic resources and share the multi-billion benefits with developing nations.

UK Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, who was in Nagoya, said: "These have been long and hard negotiations, but we have agreed an historic protocol which has been 18 years in the making, establishing a regime where developing countries will allow access to their genetic and natural resources in return for a share of the benefits for their use".

Jim Leape, the director general of WWF International, said: "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."