Progress Towards Protected Area Targets
Protected Area targets have been set globally, regionally, and sometimes at a country level. During the last decade, the global protected area targets that all country signatories to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) committed to were the CBD's Aichi Biodiversity Targets. Specifically, Aichi Target 11 which stated that:
Designing and managing protected and conserved areas to support inland water ecosystems and biodiversity
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.
IUCN WCPA Technical Note 16: Approaches for identifying areas of particular importance for marine biodiversity
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.
World Bank Global Biodiversity Data
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).
Making the global local Should the drive to 30x30 be locally led?
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.
Governing Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction: Roles and Opportunities for the Private Sector
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.
Mapping the planet’s critical areas for biodiversity and nature’s contributions to people
Meeting global commitments to conservation, climate, and sustainable development requires consideration of synergies and tradeoffs among targets. We evaluate the spatial congruence of ecosystems providing globally high levels of nature’s contributions to people, biodiversity, and areas with high development potential across several sectors.
High Seas Biodiversity Treaty Policy Brief
This introductory brief's target audience is professionals from governments, civil society, private sector, and other stakeholders who know multilateral processes and treaties but are not “BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) experts”. It is an easier read than the treaty itself.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: what it does and does not do, and how to improve it
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) marks one of the most ambitious environmental agreements of the 21st century. Yet despite the ambition, and the considerable change in approach since negotiating its predecessor (the 2025 Vision and Aichi targets), the many pressures, including working through a global pandemic mean that the final agreement, despite several years of delay, is weaker than might have been hoped for.