After the mixed results of Rio 20+, the COP 11 meeting in the southern city of Hyderabad, India, will be watched closely. Scheduled to take place from the 8 to 19 October 2012, India will host this high level meeting to give the cause of the environment a boost. The meeting takes place during the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity (UNBD) as declared by the United Nations General Assembly.

The goal of the conference is to get countries together and mainstream the issue of biodiversity into policies and debate. The conference will be a platform for countries to discuss their national policies and strategies related to climate change, environment and the protection of the diverse flora and fauna.

India hosting the COP 11 is important in many ways, keeping in mind India's role in the Rio 20+ and the general stand India takes on issues related to the climate change debate. As a host country, India hopes to place the biodiversity debate in the centre by especially emphasising the need for sustainable economic development. It also hopes to take the debate further to the imperative need now to engage with policies in terms of a 'global environment' which affects everyone. Jayanthi Natarajan, Minister of State (Independent Charge) Environment and Forests, Government of India, in her welcome address on the launch of the COP 11 said, "We have a great deal to offer to the world in terms of our experience in protecting biodiversity with the active participation of the local communities. At the same time, we have much to learn from the experiences of other countries on this front". Lauding India's efforts, Braulio Ferreira de Souza, CBD Executive Secretary also commented "Together with our hosts, the government of India, the world will continue its vigorous work in support of protecting nature and ensuring that she will provide protection to us all in the future." 

There are a lot of hopes pinned on the COP 11, in context of more and more countries facing a crisis where their local flora and fauna species have vanished and the eco-system severely damaged. The conference, will hopefully also throw up some answers about the conundrum faced by many developing countries about rapid development and population explosion affecting the delicate balance of biodiversity.