Fiji, Nov. 5 -- The world is failing to meet 22 of its 23 global biodiversity targets, with Fiji warning that inadequate funding and continued subsidies for activities that damage nature are undermining efforts to protect ecosystems.

Minister for Climate Change Lynda Tabuya told Parliament Wednesday that the findings of the United Nations Biodiversity Conference (CBD COP17) in Yerevan, Armenia, exposed a major gap between global commitments and action.

The review found that fewer than half of countries submitted their national biodiversity plans on time, while current commitments would protect only about 26 percent of the world's land and 12 percent of its oceans by 2030.

The international commitment to provide at least US$20 billion a...