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Pacific Island communities are heavily dependent on fisheries for subsistence and livelihoods. Yet, despite their importance, coastal fisheries are poorly managed and commercial pressures increasingly threaten them. Groupers (Epinephelidae) are exceptionally vulnerable to overexploitation due to aspects of their biology while their economic value makes them a prime target for commerce. Fiji has a significant grouper fishery and is a useful case study to assess a data-poor, economically valuable sector to evaluate management measures, options, and needs.

The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted in 2022, provides a framework for the effective implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) through four goals and 23 targets. Target 3 (known as the ‘30x30 target’) calls on Parties to conserve at least 30% of terrestrial, inland waters, and coastal and marine areas by 2030. These guidelines are designed to promote good practices relating to identifying, reporting, monitoring and strengthening OECMs.

In partnership with Bloomberg Ocean Initiative, SkyTruth is developing an entry point for 30x30 stakeholders. The tools below enable you to track the world’s progress toward 30x30, draw new protected areas, and find additional tools and organizations fighting for the protection of marine and terrestrial ecosystems.

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It is essential to ensure the effectiveness of current conservation efforts to meet the interconnected crises of biodiversity loss, habitat degradation, and climate change. In this article, we discuss one aspect that undermines conservation’s effectiveness while at the same time being underexplored in the academic and political discourse on conservation: patriarchal norms and structures. We argue that these norms and structures, which promote male supremacy and inequality, are central to driving environmental destruction.

Rigorous analysis of opportunities to expand nature conservation can help determine where natural capital could have the biggest impact on climate, jobs, and health.

This report – the second in a series of International Labour Organization (ILO)–United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)–International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) publications on decent work in nature-based solutions (NbS) – aims to improve the understanding of the role of NbS in the world of work and in a just transition towards environmentally sustainable and inclusive economies and societies.

The Global Biodiversity Standard is the world’s most scientifically rigorous biodiversity certification that recognises and promotes the protection, restoration, and enhancement of biodiversity.
It provides assurance that land management interventions such as tree planting, habitat restoration and agroforestry practices undertaken by organisations and governments are protecting, safeguarding, and restoring biodiversity, rather than inadvertently causing harm.

The GlobalUsefulNativeTrees species selection App combines species data from the Botanic Gardens Conservation International GlobalTreeSearch database (GTS) ( website ; Beech et al. 2017 ) with data available from the World Checklist of Useful Plant Species (WCUPS) ( Diazgranados et al. 2020 ). GTS documents the native country distribution of close to 60,000 tree species, whereas the WCUPS contains 40,283 plant species names from the Plantae kingdom, documenting human usage across 10 categories of usage that was modified from the Economic Botany Data Collections Standard.

Globally, protected areas associated with sacred sites and cemeteries are an emerging area of research. However, they are biased toward terrestrial systems. In Fiji, funerary protected areas (FPAs) in freshwater and marine systems are culturally protected by Indigenous Fijians following the burial of a loved one on clan land. First documented in the 1800s, FPAs in Fiji have not been researched despite more than 30 years of conservation efforts and countrywide co-management of natural resources.

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.