Partnerships

Biodiversity loss is a social and ecological emergency, and calls have been made for the global expansion of protected areas (PAs) to tackle this crisis. It is unclear, however, where best to locate new PAs to protect biodiversity cost-effectively. To answer this question, we conducted a spatial meta-analysis by overlaying seven global biodiversity templates to identify conservation priority zones. These are then combined with low human impact areas to identify cost-effective zones (CEZs) for PA designation.

The Marine Protected Area (MPA) Guide refines existing language and captures a shared vision to describe MPAs and the conservation outcomes they provide. The Guide is the work of many hundreds of stakeholders from around the world. It is a timely and important tool to help drive more and better ocean protection and reflects a collective ambition to find unity in language and consistency in approach.

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International trade in wildlife is one contributing factor to zoonotic disease risk. Using descriptive statistics, this paper shows that in the last decades, the volume and pattern of internationally traded wildlife has changed considerably and, with it, the zoonotic patho‑ gens that are traded. In an econometric analysis, we give evidence that an international environmental trade agreement could be used to limit the spread of zoonotic pathogens and disease.

A Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) is under discussion for the period 2021–2030, which will replace the ‘‘Aichi Targets’’ adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 2010. Given the limited success in meeting most of the Aichi Targets, this new framework must adopt a different approach. A key challenge the GBF must address is its implementation at national scales. Four ways this implementation challenge can be addressed include:

Forests are at the heart of the 2030 Agenda. They are a source of food, medicines and biofuel for more than 1 billion people. They protect soils and water, host more than three quarters of the world’s terrestrial biodiversity, and help tackle climate change. Forests provide many products and services that contribute to socio-economic development and create work and income for tens of millions of people. FAO completed its first assessment of the world’s forest resources in 1948.

The development of a new international legally binding instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ agreement) is in the final negotiation phase. Legal recognition of rights of nature is emerging worldwide as a fresh imperative to preserve ecological integrity, safeguard human wellbeing, broaden participation in decision-making, and give a voice to nature – but so far exclusively within national jurisdiction. In this paper, we consider how a Rights of Nature perspective might inform the BBNJ agreement.

Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) are the holders of a vast amount of traditional knowledge of the ocean and its resources.

The current report, based on the work of over 100 economists/scientists, analyses the global economic implications of a 30% PA target for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the PA/nature sector itself. (OECMs were only defined by the CBD in 2018, too recently to economically model, but we include a qualitative treatment of them.) n We carried out two analyses: a global financial one (concrete revenues and costs only); and a tropicsfocused economic one (including non-monetary ecosystem service values), for multiple scenarios of how a 30% PA target might be implemented.

The current report, based on the work of over 100 economists/scientists, analyses the global economic implications of a 30% PA target for agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and the PA/nature sector itself. (OECMs were only defined by the CBD in 2018, too recently to economically model, but we include a qualitative treatment of them.) n We carried out two analyses: a global financial one (concrete revenues and costs only); and a tropicsfocused economic one (including non-monetary ecosystem service values), for multiple scenarios of how a 30% PA target might be implemented.

With the establishment of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015, the Human Development Forum launched a series of publications entitled A Better World, each volume dedicated to one of the 17 SDGs. This volume, published in June 2020, covers Goal 14 — Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. It is our belief that enhancing the contribution of marine biodiversity is hugely beneficial to the world in general, and to the future of small island developing states and least developed countries in particular.