After three days of intense negotiations in Rome that broke a stalemate from a 2024 summit, nations have reached an agreement on a plan to deliver funding to protect wildlife in some of the world's poorest countries.

Delegates stood and clapped as the decision was adopted well into the final hour of the extended UN Biodiversity Conference.

"The applause is for all of you. You have done an amazing job," said COP16 President Susana Muhamad of Colombia.

Brian O’Donnell, director of the global movement Campaign for Nature described the decision as "very welcome" after years of negotiations. "In these turbulent times, it is inspiring to see 196 countries come together and overcome differences and national challenges to reach a shared solution."

Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity at last year's COP16 conference in Cali, Colombia, had been unable to reach a consensus on how to deliver financing of $200 billion (€192.5 billion) a year to fund biodiversity initiatives worldwide by 2030.

Opening the talks in the Italian capital this week, former Colombian minister of the environment Mohamed had urged delegates to work together "for something that probably is the most important purpose of humanity in the 21st century, which is our collective capacity to sustain life on this planet."

One of the main sticking points was over the mechanisms in place to deliver funding for biodiversity protection particularly to poorer........

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