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:
at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water, and 10 per cent of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, are conserved through effectively and equitably managed, ecologically representative and well connected systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, and integrated into the wider landscapes and seascapes by 2020.
The new Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted in December 2022 at the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP15). CBD country signatories have committed to implementing the protected area target (Target 3) of the new GBF by the year 2030. The text of Target 3 is below:
Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, recognizing indigenous and traditional territories, where applicable, and integrated into wider landscapes, seascapes and the ocean, while ensuring that any sustainable use, where appropriate in such areas, is fully consistent with conservation outcomes, recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities including over their traditional territories.
Regionally, the Micronesia Challenge aims to effectively conserve at least 30% of near-shore marine resources and 20% of terrestrial resources across Micronesia by 2020. An example of a country-based target is Fiji that aims to have 30% of reefs protected by 2015 and 30% of waters managed as a marine protected area network by 2020. During the 24th Micronesia Island Forum in 2019, the Leaders recognized the success in the first 15 years of the Micronesia Challenge and endorsed the new Micronesia Challenge 2030 goals to effectively manage 50% of marine resources, including the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and 30% of terrestrial resources by 2030.
Below are various efforts that have been carried out to assess global and regional progress towards the Aichi protected area targets. The paper by Govan (2009) is the most comprehensive assessment of marine protected areas (MPAs), including all LMMAs in the Pacific Islands. Govan’s data has now been incorporated into the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). Several of the papers below attempt to assess progress towards targets which relate to factors such as management effectiveness, biodiversity coverage, governance and finance etc.
As we move closer to 2030, further technical guidance on implementing the new GBF Target 3 that becomes available will be added to the resources section below. Furthermore, the resources section will be updated as needed to include any new papers or guidance related to taking stock of national, regional and global progress in implementing the GBF Target 3.
Reimmanlok - Marshall Islands' National Conservation Area Plan
Global biodiversity loss is rapid and ongoing. International efforts are redoubling as the international community realizes the importance of biodiversity in maintaining our life support systems.
Report for the BIOPAMA PACIFIC REGIONAL INCEPTION WORKSHOP Apia, Samoa 11TH to 15TH June 2018
To formally launch the second phase of the Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management (BIOPAMA) programme, a regional inception workshop for the Pacific was held at the Tanoa Tusitala Hotel, Apia, Samoa from 11th to 15th June 2018.
Republic of Fiji National Ocean Policy 2020-2030
Fijians have been at the forefront of ocean action and leadership because it i our responsibility as an oceanic people. Fiji is a nation of over 300 islands whose past, present and future are intrinsically linked to the ocean.
Reshaping Natural Resource Management in Papua New Guinea
The growing need for effective tools and new approaches for natural resource management (NRM) is being met by PNG’s NRM Hub initiative, which is already helping to centralise environmental data and make it accessible to stakeholders everywhere.
Retaining natural vegetation to safeguard biodiversity and humanity
Global efforts to deliver internationally agreed goals to reduce carbon emissions, halt biodiversity loss, and retain essential ecosystem services have been poorly integrated.
Rights of Nature: Perspectives for Global Ocean Stewardship
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.
Safeguarding Seafood Security, Marine Biodiversity and Threatened Species: Can We Have Our Fish and Eat It too?
The ocean contains an abundance of biodiversity that is vital to global food security. However, marine biodiversity is declining.
Saving the ocean and climate through innovative marine protected area finance mechanisms
Ocean threats: acidification, deoxygenation, warming, heatwaves. Do we have anything useful to bend, change, or reverse the results?
Scheduling incremental actions to build a comprehensive national protected area network for Papua New Guinea
Systematic conservation planning identifies priority areas to cost-effectively meet conservation targets. Yet, these tools rarely guide wholesale declaration of reserve systems in a single time step due to financial and implementation constraints.
Sharks and rays of the Samoan archipelago: a review of their biological diversity, social and cultural values, and conservation status
Data on chondrichthyan (sharks, rays, and chimaeras) populations is largely lacking for many countries and territories in the Indo-Pacific. Aims.
Siporae Rainforest Conservation Area - Management Rules
In 2019 the Siporae Rainforest Protected Area was declared a protected area under the 2010 protected area ACT. It protects and conserves one of the last untouched rainforest ecosystems in Choiseul Province and Solomon Island.
Sirebe Rainforest Conservation Area - Management Rules
In 2019 The Sirebe Rainforest Conservation Area was declared a protected area under the 2010 protected area ACT. It protects and conserves one of the last untouched rainforest ecosystems in Choiseul Province and Solomon Islands.
Social Assessment for Protected and Conserved Areas (SAPA) - 2nd Edition
In April 2013, IIED in partnership with Fauna and Flora International (FFI) and the UN Environment World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), launched a project to develop and pilot the Social Assessment for Protected Areas methodology (SAPA).
Social Assessment for Protected Areas (SAPA)
This manual provides detailed guidance for assessing the social impacts – benefits and costs – of protected areas (PAs) and related conservation and development activities, at the local level using the relatively simple and low cost Social Assessment for Protected Areas (SAPA) methodology.
Solutions in Focus: Community-led successes in marine conservation
This booklet is part of a series of compilations assembling PANORAMA solution case studies on a defined topic. “Solutions in Focus” zooms in on a topic of interest covered by PANORAMA, allowing to explore common elements and shared learnings across success stories.
Spillover benefits from the world’s largest fully protected MPA
Previous research has cast doubt on the potential for marine protected areas (MPAs) to provide refuge and fishery spillover benefits for migratory species as most MPAs are small relative to the geographic range of these species.
Status of Large Marine Protected Areas in the Pacific
Keep current on the expansion of large marine protected areas (MPA)in the Pacific.
Status of monitoring and evaluation of Tonga’s Special Management Area program
Tonga’s Special Management Areas (SMAs) have been widely supported by the people of Tonga as a successful approach to the comanagement of their fisheries and marine resources.
Status of Policy and Target Development and Implementation for Marine Protected Areas/Marine Managed Areas in the Pacific Islands Region - A Preliminary Assessment and Future Directions
Benzaken, D., Miller-Taei, S., Wood, L. 2007. Status of Policy and Target Development and Implementation for Marine Protected Areas/Marine Managed Areas in the Pacific Islands Region - A Preliminary Assessment and Future Directions
Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, including Aichi Biodiversity Targets
In decision X/2, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held from 18 to 29 October 2010, in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan, adopted a revised and updated Strategic Plan for Biodiversity, including th
Summary of the UN Biodiversity Conference: 7-19 December 2022
The first part of the UN Biodiversity Conference convened virtually from 11-15 October 2021, with a limited number of delegates physically present in Kunming, China.
Technical Report - Land Degradation Neutrality for Biodiversity Conservation
Land degradation and the loss of biological diversity are two of the most pressing environmental threats facing humanity. Both are eroding the planetary life support systems on which the prosperity and well-being of current and future generations depend.
Testing a global standard for quantifying species recovery and assessing conservation impact
Recognizing the imperative to evaluate species recovery and conservation impact, in 2012the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) called for development of a“Green List of Species” (now the IUCN Green Status of Species).
The ARNAVON MARINE PARK (a Community-Managed Conservation Initiative) - CONSERVATION & MANAGEMENT PLAN (Revised)
This Conservation and Management Plan was the culmination of a community-wide consultation undertaken to review the 20-year old ACMCA Management Plan first endorsed in 1994.The scope of this Plan is dictated by AMP’s status as an established and internationally recognized conservation program tha
The Case for Marine Protected Areas
Ocean health is critical to all life on this planet.
The CBD Post-2020 biodiversity framework: People's place within the rest of nature
Recognizing two decades of failure to achieve global goals and targets, parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are in the final phase of negotiating a Post- 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework for the conservation, sustainable use and benefit sharing of biodiversity.
The Database of Island Invasive Species Eradications (DIISE)
Islands are at the forefront of the global extinction crisis, with invasive vertebrates posing a significant threat to native flora and fauna.
The effectiveness of global protected areas for climate change mitigation
Forests play a critical role in stabilizing Earth’s climate. Establishing protected areas (PAs) represents one approach to forest conservation, but PAs were rarely created to mitigate climate change.
The effects of protected areas on the ecological niches of birds and mammals
Protected areas are a cornerstone for biodiversity conservation, and typically support more natural and undisturbed habitats compared to unprotected lands. The effect of protected areas on intra-specific ecological niche has been rarely investigated.
The essential role of other effective area-based conservation measures in achieving big bold conservation targets
We argue that OECMs are essential to the achievement of big and bold conservation targets such as Half-Earth.
The Future of Our Ocean is in Our Hands: An Update on the Palau National Marine Sanctuary
Palau’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), with a total of 500,238 km2 (over 300,000 mi2 ), became a multi-zoned national MPA in 2015, through the Palau National Marine Sanctuary Act.
The Global Wetland Outlook: Special Edition 2021
As an update to the 2018 Global Wetland Outlook, this special edition on the occurrence of the Convention’s 50th anniversary presents new findings on the status and value of wetlands globally, particularly in the context of the global pandemic, climate and biodiversity crises an
THE IUCN WORLD COMMISSION ON PROTECTED AREAS OCEANIA Newsletter No. 1 2019
The first edition of the Newsletter of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Oceania (2019). IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected area expertise.
THE IUCN WORLD COMMISSION ON PROTECTED AREAS OCEANIA Newsletter No. 4 2018
The fourth edition of the Newsletter of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas Oceania (2018). IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) is the world's premier network of protected area expertise.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework: Business as usual or a turning point?
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF)1 was adopted during the 15th Conference of Parties (COP15) of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at 3:30 a.m. on the morning of December 19, 2022, against a backdrop of protests by African countries.
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.
The Marine Spatial Planning Index: a tool to guide and assess marine spatial planning
Marine spatial planning (MSP) has the potential to balance demands for ocean space with environmental protection and is increasingly considered crucial for achieving global ocean goals.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands - State of Environment Report 2016
This report updates the 1992 State of Environment report with the latest findings from the Marshall Islands. Environmental reporting is defined as a requirement for RMI in the ‘Office of Environmental Planning and Policy Coordination (OEPPC) Act 2003’.
The role of Indigenous peoples and local communities in effective and equitable conservation
Debate about what proportion of the Earth to protect often overshadows the question of how nature should be conserved and by whom.
The status and conservation needs of the Micronesian Megapode (Megapodius laperouse laperouse) across the Mariana archipelago
Accurate baseline data for wildlife populations are important to track trends of these
The three screen doors: Can marine “protected” areas be effective?
The great majority of marine protected areas (MPAs) fail to meet their management objectives. So MPAs can be effective conservation tools, we recommend two paradigm shifts, the first related to how they are located and the second related to how they are managed.
