India, March 2 -- Governments on Friday reached agreement on a strategy to raise an additional $200 billion each year to better protect the world's flora and fauna by 2030.

Delegates met in Rome this week for the resumption of the UN Biodiversity Conference to hammer out an agreement at COP16.2 after attempts to reach a deal on financing at COP16 in Cali, Colombia, fell short last November.

It is hoped that the hard-won decisions made by parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity will shore up biodiversity and fragile ecosystems which are bearing the brunt of increased conflict, deforestation, mining, toxic waste dumping and other environmental impacts worldwide.

"We very much welcome this announcement," the UN Secretary-Gene...