From 2022 to today, we have protected only 0.5% more marine areas. We should increase them by 3.5% per year to meet the 30x30 target set by the Global Biodiversity Framework
Today, only 8.3% of the ocean surface is protected. Progress has been dismal in the last two years: just 0.5% more. At this rate, by the end of the decade, we will only reach 9.7%. This is far from the 30% target for marine protected areas set in 2022 at COP15 in Kunming and Montreal. Instead, we should expand the areas by more than 3.5% per year, 15 times more than today. Moreover, areas with high or total protection account for only 2.8%.
These stark numbers reflect the progress made in the last two years toward the most important 2030 target of reverse nature loss and protect global biodiversity. They are compiled in a report by the Bloomberg Ocean Fund, in collaboration with the Marine Conservation Institute, SkyTruth, and Campaign for Nature, released on the eve of COP16 in Cali, which begins on October 21.
Global Marine Protected Areas: Where Are We Now?
One key moment of the summit will be monitoring progress toward the 2030 biodiversity targets. The NGOs’ report provides an overview of the situation.
Only 14 countries have protected more than 30% of their waters as marine protected areas. These are Monaco, Palau, the United Kingdom, Kazakhstan, New Zealand, Australia, Argentina, Germany, Chile, Colombia, Belgium, France, Seychelles, and the Netherlands. Only a few more have included specific targets in their biodiversity protection strategies. If this is the situation in territorial waters, the scenario is much worse for international waters: protection covers less than 2% of those waters, and only 1% is particularly protected.
The gap between protection on paper and actual protection is wide across all regions. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have designated 27% of their waters as marine protected areas, but only 2.5% is under high protection. North America has the best data: 22% protection and 17% at a high level. In Europe, these figures drop to 20% and 7%.
A fundamental problem also threatens the achievement of the 2030 targets: the official definition of marine protected areas “is applied inconsistently by countries,” the report explains. This has led to an increase in cases of “bluewashing.” For instance, activities incompatible with effective biodiversity conservation, such as industrial fishing, oil and gas extraction, mining, and dredging, are still allowed in many protected areas.
