- Protected areas cover 18.7% of land, 10% of ocean four years before 2030 deadline
- High seas remain largest gap with just 1.7% under protection
Countries are falling short of their pledge to protect 30% of the planet's land and oceans by 2030, with protected areas currently covering 18.7% of land and 10% of oceans as the UN Biodiversity Conference opens in Yerevan.
The conference, known as COP17, is being held in the Armenian capital from Oct. 19 to 30 under the theme "Taking Action for Nature." It marks the first global review of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, adopted at COP15 in Montreal in 2022 with the aim of halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030.
A UN report released ahead of the talks shows that most countries have set national targets in line with the framework, yet fewer than half consider themselves on track to meet any of them.
At stake is whether governments can turn four years of commitments into measurable protection on the ground and at sea, with just over three years left before the deadline.
30x30: More than a numbers game
The 30x30 goal, formally known as Target 3, is the best-known of the framework's 23 targets. It calls for at least 30% of land and ocean areas to be under protection by 2030.
The target goes beyond simply declaring areas protected. It requires them to be effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems.
Other targets in the framework include restoring degraded ecosystems and reducing harmful subsidies by at least $500 billion a year.
Climate link: Ecosystems as carbon stores
Ecosystems such as forests, wetlands, oceans and soils store large amounts of carbon, slowing climate change and helping communities adapt to its impacts.
When these ecosystems are destroyed, the stored carbon is released into the atmosphere, linking biodiversity loss directly to global warming.
Global picture: Uneven progress
According to October figures from the Protected Planet database, maintained by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are more than 514,000 protected areas worldwide.
Together, they cover 18.7% of the world's land and 10% of its oceans.
According to an assessment published in September by the Campaign for Nature, government commitments are set to increase protection to approximately 27% of land but only 12% of the global ocean by 2030.
Progress varies sharply by region. Latin America has protected 29% of its land and 26% of its ocean, while Oceania has protected 24% and 41%, respectively. Seychelles leads in land protection at 68%, while Libya, Eritrea and Somalia have yet to protect any.
UN stocktake: Commitments outpace action
The State of Biodiversity Action report, released by the Convention on Biological Diversity Secretariat on Oct. 15, offers the first global assessment of progress under the framework.
It found that 162 parties, or 83%, have set national targets aligned with the framework, compared with only about half of parties that set targets under the previous Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2020.
However, fewer than half of reporting parties considered their national targets to be on track to meet any of the global targets, and negative indicator trends were more common than positive ones.
"We remain off track to meet our collective goals," UN Environment Programme Executive Director Inger Andersen said in the report.
Target 3 reveals a striking contrast. National targets linked to protected areas are among those most frequently assessed by countries themselves as being on track, yet indicator-based data show that Target 3 has made less collective progress than most other targets.
The report also found that marine, coastal and inland water ecosystems consistently show gaps in coverage and remain underrepresented compared with terrestrial ecosystems.
Oceans: Widest gap on high seas
The shortfall is most pronounced in international waters. Protection reaches 23.3% in national waters, but just 1.7% on the high seas, which make up 61% of the world's oceans.
Existing marine reserves are not always permanent, as governments can scale back, shrink or strip protections from designated areas. In 2018, Australia scaled back safeguards in its Coral Sea marine park over an area exceeding 740,000 square kilometers, while the US has opened all five Marine National Monuments to fishing over the last two years.
Yerevan: Finance, implementation in focus
Countries are expected to review their progress, address finance gaps and discuss how to turn national commitments into action.
Funding remains a major hurdle. The UN report said the 2025 milestone of $20 billion a year in international biodiversity finance was likely not met, though a final assessment will only be possible once complete data are available.
The talks will also test whether the momentum behind the framework can translate into protection that is both broader and more effective.
