CBD COP15 : Protect 30% of the Planet by 2030 to save biodiversity

Posted on 13 December 2022

One of the main policy solutions to slow the loss of biodiversity and degradation of nature is the creation of protected or conserved areas.

One million plant and animal species are threatened with extinction, many of which could disappear within a few decades! We have lost half of the world's corals and are losing forest areas the size of 27 soccer fields every minute. And between 1970 and 2018, the average population size of wild vertebrates declined by 69% according to WWF's Living Planet 2022 Report.

It is important to note that 80% of the remaining biodiversity is found in the lands, waters and territories managed by local communities and indigenous peoples. There, biodiversity is preserved through their sustainable management and conservation for many years.

One of the main policy solutions to slow the loss of biodiversity and degradation of nature is the creation of protected or conserved areas. There is a broad consensus that there are not enough protected areas on our planet to reverse the loss of biodiversity and preserve all land, freshwater and marine areas. There is also evidence that the global economy would also benefit from the establishment of many more protected and conserved areas on land and at sea than exist today.

Very concretely, we need:
- A global conservation target of 30% of the planet, including terrestrial, inland water, and marine and coastal areas by 2030, focusing on Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Ecologically and Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs).
- Specification in this global goal that the rights of local communities are fully respected and secured and that all these areas are managed effectively and have equitable governance. Local communities and indigenous peoples already manage 80% of the remaining biodiversity; without them there can be no sustainable management of nature.
- An ambitious target on the restoration of natural and semi-natural ecosystems, beyond existing commitments, would help ensure that we create a nature-friendly world by 2030.

On Saturday, December 10, the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, the Foundation for Protected Areas and Biodiversity of Madagascar (FAPBM), Madagascar National Parks and other conservation actors established the "Madagascar Coalition for Protected Areas". To fulfill its commitment under the Paris Agreement in 2015, Madagascar must ensure the preservation of forests to increase their capacity to absorb carbon by 32% by 2030. According to the FAPBM, the Big Island needs a sum of 70 million dollars per year to ensure the good management of its protected areas and the quality of life of local populations. The CBD COP15 should allow Madagascar to strengthen the financial flows to support the sustainable management and development of its network of 123 protected areas.