Biodiversity Talks in Rome End

While the Trump administration in Washington was cutting environmental programs, delegates at U.N.biodiversity talks in Rome made modest progress Thursday on a series of measures to support nature.Governments gathered to tackle global biodiversity losses that are unprecedented in human history, driven by the ways people have transformed the world.The seismic geopolitical changes of recent weeks loomed over the talks as countries negotiated in a large conference room, fighting for small steps toward consensus.

Delegates painstakingly negotiated the language of diplomatic texts even as Britain announced reductions to its overseas development aid and as the United States continued cutting its international aid programs.“We have sent a light of hope,” said Susana Muhamad, Colombia’s departing environment minister, who presided over the meeting.“The common good — the environment, the protection of life and the capacity to come together for something bigger than each national interest — is possible.”Many developing countries are rich in biodiversity but poor economically, and three days of tense negotiations centered on whether a new fund would be part of a plan to mobilize $200 billion a year for nature funding by 2030.African and Latin American countries have demanded a new fund, arguing that the way they currently gain access to multilateral money is unfair and inefficient.

But many donor countries have fought their proposed fund, saying it would be expensive to set up and manage, diverting money that could otherwise be spent on conservation itself.In the end, delegates agreed on a process to decide whether a new fund would be created.

Still, it was a hard-won compromise and the room erupted in applause.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of...