UN conference reaches historic biodiversity deal to protect 30 per cent of planet by 2030
- This is the most significant effort to protect lands and oceans, and provide financing to save biodiversity in the developing world
- Currently, 17 per cent of terrestrial and 10 per cent of marine areas are protected
The most significant part of the agreement is a commitment to protect 30 per cent of land and water considered important for biodiversity by 2030. Currently, 17 per cent of terrestrial and 10 per cent of marine areas are protected.
“There has never been a conservation goal globally at this scale,” Brian O’Donnell, the director of the conservation group Campaign for Nature, told reporters. “This puts us within a chance of safeguarding biodiversity from collapse … We’re now within the range that scientists think can make a marked difference in biodiversity.”
The draft also calls for raising US$200 billion by 2030 for biodiversity from a range of sources and working to phase out or reform subsidies that could provide another US$500 billion for nature. As part of the financing package, the framework calls for increasing to at least US$20 billion annually by 2025 the money that goes to poor countries – or about double what is currently provided. That number would increase to US$30 billion each year by 2030.
Some advocates wanted tougher language around subsidies that make food and fuel so cheap in many parts of the world. The document only calls for identifying subsidies by 2025 that can be reformed or phased out and working to reduce them by 2030.
“The new text is a mixed bag,” Andrew Deutz, director of global policy, institutions and conservation finance for The Nature Conservancy, said.
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