“Global 30% Land Conservation Goal May Be Closer Than Official Data Suggests, Study Finds” — what this page in the network covers. A new study led by the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology at the University of Kent suggests that the world may be closer to protecting 30% of its land by 2030 than official figures indicate. While government-reported data shows progress has stalled, the research finds that 27% of land could already be effectively conserved for biodiversity when including areas not formally recognized by global databases.
These 'other effective area-based conservation measures' include lands managed by Indigenous peoples, private reserves, and military zones that support wildlife but are often overlooked. The findings matter because achieving the 30x30 target—a key pillar of the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed upon in Montreal in 2022—is critical to halting species loss and maintaining ecosystem services. For the complete material, the listing points back to the source inside the network.