Blog
At the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in 2022, nearly 200 nations committed to effectively protect at least 30% of the Earth’s land and ocean by 2030. This 30x30 global target is the most ambitious conservation commitment ever made and a critical step towards addressing the dual challenges of climate change and biodiversity loss.
New research, published just ahead of the COP16 UN Biodiversity Conference next week, found that countries are significantly off track from achieving this 30x30 pledge. According to the report, ‘On track or off course? Assessing progress toward the 30x30 target in the ocean,’ only 8.3% the world’s ocean has been placed under any form of protection, and a majority of these reported protections are at lower levels of protection and not being implemented effectively. Further, since the 30x30 target was set in 2022, the global marine area that has been reported as protected has increased by only 0.5% of the ocean. If we maintain this rate of progress, the report predicts that just 9.7% of the ocean will be protected by 2030.
In the face of these sobering findings, we sat down with Laure Katz, Co-Lead of the Blue Nature Alliance, to discuss the report’s implications and why hope remains on our global journey towards 30x30.
It is always important to remember that 30x30 is about so much more than a spatial target. Fundamentally, the 30% goal is about the long-term survival and health of our planet and humanity. 30% - or 108 million square kilometers - is the minimum area that science tells us must be protected to maintain a functioning and resilient ocean. Delivering on the 30x30 target is not only about protecting the ocean’s rich biodiversity. It’s also essential to sustaining the countless services a thriving ocean provides life on Earth, from food production, livelihood creation, coastline protection, climate regulation, and oxygen generation. If our blue planet is going to continue to sustain us, we must restore ocean health.
A protected area’s designation is a hard-won step, but it is only the first. Going from a line on the map to a place with actual implemented and effective management is a big commitment. It means setting appropriate regulations that meaningfully address the threats, establishing governance mechanisms, building enforcement systems, and making sure the area has food production.
The Alliance helps partners tackle each of these building blocks. We work with partners to not only designate new and expanded ocean protections, but also to stand up equitable governance and management systems, build management capacity, and secure long-term financing. We stand with our partners at whatever step of their journey they are on to realize effective and durable conservation measures.
Promoting Indigenous-led conservation is a hallmark of the Blue Nature Alliance’s approach. Our work is guided by a code of conduct rooted in social equity principles. We are deeply humbled to have the opportunity to learn from the leadership and vision of coastal communities, voyaging societies, and other communities with deep wisdom of the ocean. By following that wisdom and giving space for those communities to lead, we’ve seen magical impacts happen. Earlier this year in Canada, for example, the Alliance supported coastal First Nations in securing $335 million to develop sustainable economic initiatives and protections in the Great Bear Sea, off British Columbia’s northern coast.
The report’s prediction that only 9.7% of the ocean will be protected by 2030 is grounded in historical trends (the rate of protected area spread since the adoption of the Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022), but there are several immediate opportunities that would allow us to beat these expectations and move the needle forward.
In Antarctica’s Southern Ocean, for example, the Blue Nature Alliance is supporting a coalition of partners and governments working towards the creation of four new marine protected areas (MPAs), which, if designated, would add 2.6% to the total ocean area under full protection, a substantial contribution to the 30x30 target.
Adoption of the High Seas Treaty is poised to be an essential piece of the 30x30 puzzle as well. The high seas, which cover nearly half of the planet’s surface, are largely unexplored and unprotected. Once it is ratified by 60 countries, the High Seas Treaty will establish a legal framework for the creation of protected areas in international waters, closing a major gap in global ocean governance. In anticipation of this happening in the coming year, the Alliance and our partners are laying the groundwork for the first generation of high seas MPAs in places like the Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridges and Emperor Seamount Chain.
Yes, several countries have emerged as ocean conservation leaders in recent years. In 2023, Panama officially protected over 50% of its territorial waters through the expansion of the Banco Volcán Area of Managed Resources. Earlier this year, with support from the Alliance, the Dominican Republic designated a new marine protected area and expanded an existing sanctuary, becoming the first Caribbean nation to achieve the 30% protection milestone. The Pacific island nation of Niue committed to protect 100% of its ocean territory (an area the size of Germany) and launched a novel financial mechanism that enables contributors to sponsor a square kilometer of its waters. And just last week, the Australian government quadrupled the size of its Heard Island and McDonald Islands Marine Reserve, a move that means Australia is protecting more ocean space than any other country.
Each of these bright spots was made possible through a combination of bold political action, the leadership of local champions, trusting and value-based partnerships, and strong constituencies of support. These elements are part of a proven and replicable formula for generating ambitious and lasting conservation outcomes.
This report provided a sobering yet much-needed reality check. Despite the bold leadership in many places, we are collectively not doing enough. The pathway ahead to secure the health of the planet requires cooperation at every scale — in the Southern Ocean, in the high seas, and in every country working to build effective marine protections. Partnerships accelerate action — and we need action at an unprecedented scale.