Countries lag behind UN biodiversity protection goals — Jerusalem Post

Governments around the world are significantly behind in meeting the UN goal of protecting and conserving at least 30% of land and marine areas by 2030. This is according to a study by environmental organizations led by the U.S.-based Campaign for Nature, the Jerusalem Post reports.

Area of protected territories

At the end of 2022, nearly 200 countries endorsed the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and the “30 by 30” target. They also pledged to mobilize at least $200 billion annually to halt the long-term loss of biodiversity.

Since then, another 1.3 million square kilometers of land and 6 million square kilometers of marine areas have been placed under formal protection. At the same time, the total area of protected territories accounts for only 20% of land and 10% of marine areas.

Forecast and financing

According to Campaign for Nature, if states fulfill all existing commitments, protection will cover about 26% of land and inland waters by 2030. For marine ecosystems, this figure may reach only 13%.

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The study’s findings are consistent with a draft official progress report that is scheduled to be presented next month at the conference of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity in Yerevan, Armenia. The July draft stated that none of the framework’s 23 targets will be achieved by 2030 without a rapid acceleration of joint implementation of commitments.

The annual funding gap is estimated at between $75 billion and $150 billion. About $1.8 billion is spent annually on protecting marine ecosystems, while $16 billion is needed to achieve the targets.

Astrid Schomaker, Executive Secretary of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, said that progress is being made, but it is uneven and insufficient in pace and scale. Pauli Merriman, Senior Director of Oceans at WWF International, emphasized that of the 10% of the ocean covered by conservation plans, only 3.5% is considered effectively protected.