The European Union forced the adjournment of two items relating to ecosystem restoration and national strategies/action plans on biodiversity at the closing Plenary of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity here on Friday.
Taking the stand that the two items were closely linked to the troubled question of resource mobilisation, which the CoP is currently working to resolve, the EU delegation said these should be deferred until then. China, Malaysia and Somalia came out in favour of passing the listed agenda item, with China stating that it did not want to see "more texts in square brackets" (text which does not have agreement). It proposed a compromise text to get over the impasse. However, the EU stood firm and was supported by Australia, New Zealand and Switzerland.
The Union Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jayanthi Natarajan who was in the Chair, adjourned the items. The main issue of resource mobilisation under Article 20 of the CBD is currently being discussed and will be taken up towards the end of the closing Plenary.
A proposal on having a financial mechanism for the CBD to achieve its objectives was passed.
A host of other agenda items were passed by Plenary and the choice of Korea to host the next CoP two years from now was formalised. The questions resolved included biodiversity and climate change, inland water ecosystems, island biodiversity, protected areas, marine and coastal biodiversity, gender mainstreaming, rights of indigenous people, biodiversity for poverty eradication and development, sustainable use of biodiversity on the question of bushmeat and wildlife management, cooperation with international organisation and invasive alien species. Exhaustive data on Ecologically and Biologically significant marine Areas (EBSA) in a new report has been presented to the CoP at its current meeting.
The Plenary will reconvene at 7.30 p.m. to consider the outstanding issues. Korea is hosting a reception prior to that at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre where the CoP has met over the past fortnight. A resolution thanking India for hosting the event was proposed by EU and passed.
