A 12-day United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity ended Friday with just a wee bit of progress toward salvaging the world’s rapidly disappearing flora and fauna. Perhaps most encouraging: The 191 countries present agreed to ban the controversial practice of seeding the ocean with nutrients to encourage growth of carbon-sucking algae. In addition, Germany, which hosted the conference, agreed to spend $785 million on forest preservation by 2013 and an equal sum annually after that. Indonesia said it will create a 77,000-square-mile marine protected area, the largest in the world; Bosnia, Malaysia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo also agreed to create nature preserves. But those relatively small steps forward aren’t nearly enough, say critics, pointing out that three species go extinct every hour. “Of course we achieved less than we should have given the dimension of the problems,” admits German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel. “Achieving unanimity among 191 states is difficult.”
