The Ministerial Group at the ongoing International Conference on Biodiversity in Hyderabad has taken up today the issue of resource mobilization to find a way forward as consensus eluded so far among the member countries.

The Group comprising 77 ministers representing different regions of the world is studying the report given by the Contact Group on the contentious issue that dominated deliberations from the beginning.

UN spokesperson David Ainsworth told media this morning that the Ministerial Group will be finalizing the issue and deciding ways and means to mobilize resources from the member countries to achieve the Global Biodiversity Targets by 2020.

As the conference is coming to a close by this evening, the representatives of the member countries are engaged in hectic deliberations to give a final shape to the decisions of the CoP11.

The resource mobilization to fulfill biodiversity targets continued to remain the focal point of the CoP11 deliberations which began on 1st of this month in Hyderabad.

The 77 member ministerial Group is seized of the matter since this morning and sparing no effort to break the stalemate and convince the member countries to shed their differences. Apparently it is said that the developed and developing countries have locked horns on determining the base lines for fund mobilization and fixation of accountability for spending the funds.

India, being the Chair of the Convention on Biodiversity has taken onus of bringing the parties to the negotiating table by holding bilateral talks with each and every country.

Union Minister Jayanthi Natarajan herself is leading the Indian delegation in this respect. The issue will have its final call by this evening.-with Suprashanti, Lakshmi, Airnews, Hyderabad

A total of 14,400 delegates from 184 countries took part in the Biodiversity Conference that began on 1stof this month. India hosted this event for the first time and will hold the presidency of the Convention on Biodiversity for the next two years.