ROME: Rich and developing countries have hammered out a delicate compromise on raising and delivering the billions of dollars needed to protect species, overcoming stark divisions that scuttled their previous meeting in Colombia last year. The agreement in Rome just before midnight on Thursday (Feb 27) is seen as crucial to giving impetus to the landmark 2022 deal to halt the rampant destruction of nature this decade, which included a goal to provide US$200 billion a year in finance. The new