The majority of countries back the goals of Target 3 in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF): 89 countries are committed to protecting 30% of land and ocean as members of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People; 72 countries are advocating for the protection of 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030 as members of the Global Ocean Alliance (GOA); and 93 countries have now signed the Leaders Pledge for Nature, committing to significantly increase the protection of the world’s land and ocean areas. .
Target 3: Ensure that at least 30% globally of land areas and of sea areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and its contributions to people, 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.
In August 2021, the three intergovernmental coalitions (the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People, the Global Ocean Alliance and the Leaders Pledge for Nature) issued a joint declaration expressing strong support for a significant increase in terrestrial and marine protection, with 30x30 highlighted as the specific measure for ambition. Collectively, these efforts represent a majority of the world’s countries.
In February 2022, The Central American Commission for Environment and Development signed a resolution establishing regional support for the 30x30 global target. [Document available on request.]
Also in February 2022, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report stating, “maintaining the resilience of biodiversity and ecosystem services at a global scale depends on effective and equitable conservation of approximately 30-50% of the Earth’s land, freshwater and ocean areas.
In October 2021, the Kunming Declaration was adopted at COP15. The pact noted the growing support from countries for 30x30 and committed to increasing area based conservation, improving the effectiveness of protected and conserved areas, and recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
The 2021 G7 issued a communiqué expressing its support for the 30x30 target.
The 2021 G20 released an environment communiqué highlighting commitments made by G20 members on biodiversity conservation, including those to support the 30x30 target.
In September 2021, the IUCN World Conservation Congress:
Passed Motion 101, which highlighted the robust scientific support for increasing protected area coverage to 50% of the planet, supported 30x30 as a key target in the CBD Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, and called for greater support and rights for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLC). The motion passed with nearly 90% of the government members’ votes and with unanimous support from Indigenous organizations that voted.
Passed Motion 40, which put forward IUCN’s official position and priorities for the CBD’s Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, including strong and explicit support for 30x30. The motion passed with over 98% of the government members’ votes and with unanimous support from the Indigenous organizations’ votes.
Included support for 30x30 in the Marseille Manifesto, which was intended to capture priorities emerging from the Congress.
At the UN General Assembly in 2021, in an unprecedented announcement, nine philanthropic organizations launched the "Protecting Our Planet Challenge" and pledged $5 billion to protect and conserve 30% of the planet by 2030 by supporting protected areas and Indigenous stewardship of their territories. This marks the largest-ever philanthropic commitment to nature conservation, and Indigenous leaders welcomed the announcement as a sign of how the 30% target could be aligned with human rights.
In 2019, the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, led by 14 countries, issued an ocean action agenda that called for a global target to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.
The 30x30 proposal is currently Target 3 in the United Nations First Draft of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.
The 30x30 proposal is supported by the best available science, which clearly demonstrates that 30% is the absolute minimum extent of protections needed to help address global biodiversity loss, mitigate and adapt to climate change, provide essential ecosystem services and other economic benefits and reduce the risk of future zoonotic disease like Covid-19.
UNEP/WCMC found that conserving 30% of land could safeguard around half the world’s vulnerable terrestrial carbon stocks – and reduce the extinction risk of nearly 9 out of 10 threatened terrestrial species.
A Cambridge Report found that the economic benefits of protecting 30% of the planet outweigh the costs by a ratio of at least 5-to-1.
A McKinsey report found that 30 percent protected globally would support 30 million jobs in ecotourism and sustainable fisheries.