the ninth meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity concluded on May 30 in Bonn, Germany,
with measures to protect ecosystems. The Conference of Parties (cop), the
governing body of the convention, agreed on regulating the international biofuel sector. It also passed a moratorium on ocean
fertilization--dropping nutrients into the sea to boost CO2-absorbing algae--citing lack of scientific knowledge on its impact.
The conference secured more financial support for forest protection, with Germany and Norway committing grants over the next four years.
Activists, however, voiced disappointment saying that the conference failed to produce a clear roadmap to slow down the loss of biodiversity by
2010 (see 'Double check', p58). The activists had urged the cop not to allow
declaration of "new protected areas" without considering indigenous people's rights. The cop, though declared
tens of millions of hectares for protected areas, did not take any binding decisions in this regard.
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