MEDIA STATEMENT
Protected Areas: One Highlight for Nature in a Decade of Decline; 30 x 30 - A New Approach for the Next 10 Years
The release of the United Nations Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) highlights the importance of protecting our natural world
Washington D.C., September 15, 2020 - The Fifth edition of the United Nations Global Biodiversity Outlook (GBO-5) released today paints a painful picture of the intensifying collapse of the natural world with none of the targets set in Aichi ten years ago fully met. The report makes clear that this unprecedented failure is due to human pressure on our natural world and the lack of political prioritization and funding to protect, preserve and restore biodiversity and the ecosystem services that we rely on to survive.
One of the few positives in the analysis is the progress that countries have made in protecting more of the natural world. The report highlights that Aichi Target 11 helped galvanize action around the world to establish more terrestrial and marine protected areas, which in turn has contributed to progress towards Aichi Target 12, the reduction of the number of extinctions. The report notes that the world is now expected to meet the numerical elements of the goal to protect 17 percent of the world’s land and 10 percent of the world’s ocean by the end of 2020.
More progress is needed, however, to ensure that terrestrial and marine protected areas safeguard the most important areas for biodiversity, that they protect a representative portion of global biodiversity, are effectively and equitably managed and are adequately connected to one another as well as to the wider landscape.The report also notes that far more terrestrial and marine protection is needed.
Moving forward, it calls for “major increases in the extent and effectiveness of protected areas and OECMs [other effective area-based conservation measures],” which is in line with the overwhelming scientific consensus that at least 30% of the planet’s land and water must be protected by 2030.
In response to the report’s release, Campaign for Nature, issued the following statements:
Enric Sala, Explorer-in-Residence at the National Geographic Society and the author of the recently published book The Nature of Nature: Why We Need the Wild
"This new report just confirms that we're unplugging our life support system at a faster pace than ever. The Covid-19 pandemic is the loudest wake up call we've had on how we're all connected to all other creatures on Earth, and that our health - our own survival - depends on having a healthy natural world. The science is clear: we can start fixing the wrongs of the past by agreeing to protect at least 30% of our planet by 2030."
Brain O’Donnell, Director of the Campaign for Nature
“The Global Biodiversity Outlook should serve as a call to action for leaders across the globe. The world cannot afford another decade without major progress in biodiversity conservation. That is why the Campaign for Nature is pushing for an ambitious new target of protecting at least 30% of the planet by 2030 and working to ensure it can be fully and fairly implemented.”
“For this bold initiative to become a reality, and to ensure that we do not lose another decade in the critical effort to halt nature’s decline, three things must happen. First, countries must agree to the 30x30 target as part of the Convention on Biological Diversity’s new strategic plan.”
“Second, Indigenous Peoples and local communities must play a central role in conservation with their rights upheld and their land tenure secured. Third, governments, businesses, and philanthropists must significantly increase their financing of conservation.”
“Fortunately, Costa Rica, France and a coalition of more than two dozen countries are working to champion an ambitious deal for nature that protects at least 30% of the planet by 2030. We urge all countries to join in this effort. The fate of the natural world will depend on the goals that we set and the actions that we take over the next decade.”
Contact:
For Campaign for Nature interview requests and quotes, please contact:
Kirsten Weymouth
National Geographic Society
kweymouth@ngs.org
+1 703.928.4995