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In 2021, IUCN launched the IUCN Flagship Report Series, to help demonstrate the importance of conserving nature for human well-being and all life on Earth. This report, the second in the series, focuses on agriculture and nature. The interactions, synergies, and tradeoffs between the two sit at the heart of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which calls for ending hunger and ensuring food security while also mandating the protection and restoration of nature. Whether the two can be achieved simultaneously, and if so how, are crucial questions for humanity and our planet.

Inland waters – such as rivers, lakes and other wetlands – are among the most biodiverse ecosystems on the planet. They are also the most threatened; almost one in three species is at risk of extinction and monitored populations of freshwater species have declined by 85% since 1970. The loss of these ecosystems has cascading effects on human livelihoods, cultures and our overall well-being.

The international community has made some headway on pledges to protect 30% of the Earth by 2030 but progress must accelerate, the official progress report from the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has found.

The Protected Planet Report 2024 reveals that 17.6% of land and inland waters and 8.4% of the ocean and coastal areas globally are within documented protected and conserved areas.

The global race to safeguard irreplaceable ecosystems is nearing a critical threshold, and the window to protect vital areas for climate stability, biodiversity, and human wellbeing is rapidly closing. Growing pressure from extractive industries, including oil, gas, and mining, is putting irreplaceable ecosystems and Indigenous Territories at risk, especially across the pantropical belt. Protected and conserved areas are well-documented to be important safe havens for nature amidst an ever-expanding industrial footprint in terrestrial ecosystems.

Identifying and conserving areas of particular importance for biodiversity is a fundamental element of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). There are a number of standardised approaches for identifying areas of particular importance for biodiversity in the marine realm: Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs), Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs), Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs), and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), with a standard for Important Marine Turtle Areas (IMTAs) also nearing completion.

We describe below the data and provide an overview of the specific variables that are constructed for the analysis in the papers: “Revisiting Global Biodiversity: A Spatial Analysis of Species Occurrence Data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility” by Susmita Dasgupta, Brian Blankespoor, and David Wheeler” (2024) and “Estimating Extinction Risks with Species Occurrence Data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility” by Susmita Dasgupta, Brian Blankespoor, and David Wheeler (2024).

There has been a profound shift in attitudes towards the designation and management of site-based  conservation over the past 25 years, from being a predominantly science-based, top-down and  government-led approach to one that focuses on governance and equity, and is far more variable,  bottom-up and locally led.

Species do not exist in isolation; they are interconnected. A key element to addressing environmental problems, such as improving water quality and renewing biodiversity, involves addressing nature conservation at its core.  What can be done to support a more effective global approach to biodiversity protection and sustainable development?

The entry into force of the “Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction” (BBNJ Agreement) marks a historic moment. This white paper presents practical insights into the agreement’s implications from companies operating in these areas.

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