Draft Treaty To Slow Extinction Rates Bogs Down In Malaysia Talks

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KUALA LUMPUR - "Rich and poor countries struck a draft deal to slow the loss of plant and animal species, agreeing to speed work on creating protected areas and rewarding developing states for their natural assets.

"There's an agreement now," Hans Hoogeven, one of the main officials chairing the U.N. talks on global species variety, or biodiversity, told Reuters.

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But the deal, which also detailed plans to monitor progress made under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), still lacked final clearance from all countries at a full meeting that ran past midnight into early Saturday. "We're grinding our way through," U.N. spokesman Michael Williams said.

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Late night sessions during the two-week meeting saw delegates arguing over the best ways to establish and pay for protected areas, while allowing the people living inside or around park boundaries to earn a living. Delegates also tussled over how to protect knowledge derived from biodiversity, either traditionally held or uncovered by researchers into medicinal plants and foods."

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http://www.planetark.com/dailynewsstory.cfm/newsid/23931/story.htm