UN high-ranking official "optimistic" about securing key roadmap for biodiversity conservation

MONTREAL, Canada, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- Elizabeth Maruma Mrema, executive secretary of the Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), said here on Monday that she is optimistic about concluding the post-2020 global biodiversity framework at the UN biodiversity conference being held here.

Mrema told a press conference during the second part of the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) to the UN CBD that encouraging progress has been made toward concluding the framework given that 23 decisions have been adopted at this meeting.

But negotiations on the framework are "still a bumpy road" as discussions are in progress over such issues as balance of ambition and pragmatism, monitoring and implementation of the framework, as well as digital sequencing information for genetic resources, she said.

"China is our president of the COP," Mrema said. "We are seeing good leadership."

The second part of COP15 being held here on Dec. 7-19 aims at adopting a global framework to halt and reverse losses of the world's plants, animals and ecosystems caused by human activities.