Biodiversity is far from 2030 goals despite the expansion of protected areas on land and at sea

The world is moving away from the goal of protecting 30% of land and seas by 2030, despite the expansion of protected areas since the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in late 2022.

A recent study led by Campaign for Nature showed that official protection currently covers about 20% of terrestrial areas and inland waters, compared to about 10% of marine areas, which percentages are still far from the international goal known as “30×30.”

The results reveal that the biodiversity crisis is linked to the speed of implementation, the volume of funding, and the quality of protection at the same time, especially with the emergence of a clear gap between the areas officially classified as areas are protected and those that receive effective protection on the ground.

Progress is slower than desired

Nearly 200 countries within the Kunming-Montreal Framework have agreed to protect and conserve at least 30% of land and seas by 2030, while mobilizing at least $200 billion annually to help reverse biodiversity loss.

Since the agreement entered into force, about 1.3 million square kilometers of land and 6 million square kilometers of marine areas have been added to the official protection areas. This increase indicates actual movement, but the current pace remains less than what is required to reach the 2030 goals.

A draft report that will be presented to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, next month also warned that… The framework’s 23 goals require significant acceleration in collective implementation in the coming years.

Pledges do not reach 30%

The study reveals that implementing all current government pledges until 2030 will raise the protection rate to about 26% of land and inland waters, while the percentage reaches about 13% of marine systems. These numbers show that the current commitments themselves need additional expansion in order for the world to approach the 30×30 goal.

This aspect is linked to the fifteenth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, concerned with life on land, as the protection of terrestrial systems and inland waters depends on expanding protected areas while ensuring their management in a way that preserves natural habitats and the species that depend on them.

This becomes increasingly important as the loss of biodiversity continues in multiple regions, making the remaining years until 2030 a critical period for transforming national commitments into practical actions.

Funding hinders implementation

Lack of funding represents one of the biggest obstacles to expanding protection and improving its management, as the report estimates the annual funding gap at about $75 to $150 billion, which reflects a huge difference between available resources and what nature conservation plans need to achieve their goals.

The gap appears most clearly in protecting the seas, where current spending amounts to about $1.8 billion annually, compared to needs estimated at about $16 billion.

This deficiency affects the ability of states and institutions to monitor and manage protected areas and enforce associated rules, which reduces funding At the heart of the equation for protecting biodiversity in the coming years.

Protection on paper

The study moves from the size of protected areas to the quality of protection itself, which is one of the most prominent points revealed by the results. Of the approximately 10% of the oceans currently included in protection plans, only about 3.5% are considered effectively protected.

In this regard, Paulie Merriman, Senior Director for Oceans at the World Wide Fund for Nature, said that there is a large gap between officially registered protection and protection applied in practice, explaining that drawing the boundaries of a protected area on a map requires real procedures inside the water in order to achieve its purpose.

This gap shifts the debate from a question related to the size of the protected area to another question related to the ability of those areas to protect the species, habitats and environmental processes that Depend on it.

The seas need effective protection

Figures for the oceans reveal that increasing the areas designated as protected areas is a first step, while protecting marine systems requires ongoing management, funding and oversight capable of maintaining their ecological value.

This directly intersects with the fourteenth goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, concerned with life under water, which is linked to the protection of oceans and marine systems and the sustainable use of their resources.

The 3.5% rate gives a clear indication of the scale of the challenge; Progress on biodiversity needs to measure the quality as well as the extent of protection, especially in marine systems facing increasing pressures.

2030 is approaching

The results put the coming years ahead A clear test relates to the speed of implementation and the amount of resources available to countries, while Astrid Schumaker, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity, said that progress exists but is uneven and is occurring at a pace that is less than the level required to achieve the goals of the framework by 2030.

As the deadline approaches, increasing protected areas alone becomes part of a broader process that includes financing, management, oversight, and measuring the actual results of protection.

While the 30×30 procession reveals that the expansion of protected areas alone is not enough to measure progress in protecting biodiversity; The gap between declared areas and effective protection, coupled with the financing gap and slow implementation, makes the remaining years until 2030 a real test of countries’ ability to transform commitments into tangible results on land and at sea.

In light of these data, The Earth Guards Foundation believes that the success of the 30×30 goal is linked to the transition of policies to protect biodiversity from focusing on declared areas to actually measuring the ability of these areas to protect ecosystems and species. This transformation gives greater value to financing, management and oversight, transforming international commitments into tangible protection of nature on land and in the seas before 2030.