Delegates gathering in Nagoya for the biodiversity convention's 10th meeting since it was born at the Earth Summit in 1992 will be asked to set 20 measurable targets for the next decade to try to slow or halt species extinctions. (Nozomu Endo/Kyodo News/Associated Press)

Delegates from more than 190 nations kicked off a UN conference Monday in Japan aimed at ensuring the survival of diverse species and ecosystems threatened by pollution, exploitation and habitat encroachment.

But the two-week marathon talks of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity face some of the same divisions between rich and poor nations over what actions to take that have bogged down global climate negotiations.

Scientists warn that unless we start doing more to protect species, extinctions will spike and the intricately interconnected natural world will be damaged with devastating consequences.

Nearly half of the 669 different kinds of known primates, including the proboscis monkey, are threatened, largely because of habitat destruction and hunting, says Russ Mittermeier, president of Conservation International. The proboscis monkey lives on Borneo, an island shared by Brunei and parts of Indonesia and Malaysia. (Mark Baker/Associated Press)

"We're on the verge on the major extinction spasm," said Russ Mittermeier, president of Conservation International and a field biologist who has spent decades studying primates. "Healthy ecosystems are the underpinnings of human development."

If one part of the complex network of living organisms disappears — like bees, which perform the critical role of pollination and whose numbers are falling — the whole system can collapse, scientists argue.

Delegates gathering in Nagoya, 270 kilometres west of Tokyo, for the convention's 10th meeting since it was born at the Earth Summit in 1992 will be asked to set 20 measurable targets for the next decade to try to slow or halt these trends.

"We are now close to a tipping point, that is, we are about to reach a threshold beyond which biodiversity loss will be irreversible, and may cross that threshold in the next 10 years, if we do not make proactive efforts," said Ryu Matsumoto, Japan's minister of environment, in a speech to open the meeting.

One of the most attention-getting issues is a proposal to set aside vast tracts of land and ocean as protected areas, although developing nations don't want this to undercut their prospects for economic development.

Access to genetic resources contentious

Another contentious issue will be trying to create a legal structure to equitably share access and benefits from genetic resources, such as plants that have medicinal value — long a sore point among developing countries.

For example, the rosy periwinkle, a plant native to Madagascar, produces two cancer-fighting substances. Western drug companies have grown the plants and profited from them, but little of the money has returned to Madagascar. Developing countries argue they should receive a share of the benefits.

The biodiversity convention doesn't have a particularly good track record. It has failed to reach global goals set in 2002 to make improvements in protecting biodiversity by this year.

Scientists estimate that the Earth is losing species 100 to 1,000 times the historical average. They warn that's pushing the Earth toward its sixth big extinction phase, the greatest since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago.

Mittermeier said that in his field, of the 669 different kinds of primates, 49 per cent are threatened, largely because of habitat destruction and hunting.

"That's indicative of a real extinction risk," he said.

Protection targets sought

Under one of the 20 proposed goals for 2020, delegates will seek to agree on a percentage of land and ocean to be designated protected areas, which can range from a strict nature reserve to an area managed for sustainable use of natural resources.

If one part of the complex network of living organisms disappears — like bees, which perform the critical role of pollination and whose numbers are falling — the whole system can collapse, scientists argue. (David Inouye/University of Toronto)

The draft text of the final agreement calls for the land percentage to be raised to 15 or 20 per cent, up from about 13 per cent now. But no specific target has surfaced for oceans, of which less than one per cent are currently protected.

But even if governments agree on a global figure, implementing the plan is bound to encounter plenty of hurdles, including businesses that don't want to give up access to resources.

Some 193 governments have joined the biodiversity convention. Only three have not ratified it: the United States, Andorra and the Holy See.

Host country Japan, meanwhile, will be looking to this conference as a chance to portray itself as a protector of biodiversity after helping kill off many of the measures at the CITES, or Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, meeting earlier this year that would have limited the trade in tuna, sharks and other marine species. Tokyo has also come under harsh criticism by environmental groups for its whaling program.

"It's a chance for the Japanese government to show that Japan can play a leadership role in marine and biodiversity issues," said Wakao Hanaoka, an ocean campaigner for Greenpeace.