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Protected Planet Reports 2020

  • Posted By
    10Pointer
  • Categories
    Environment
  • Published
    28th May, 2021

As many as 82 percent of countries and territories increased their share of protected area and coverage of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) since 2010.

Context

As many as 82 percent of countries and territories increased their share of protected area and coverage of other effective area-based conservation measures (OECM) since 2010.

What is Protected Planet Report?

  • Publication: Biennial landmark publications
  • Aim: To assess the state of protected and conserved areas around the world.

Aichi Biodiversity Target 11

  • Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 calls for the conservation of “at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water areas and 10% of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem services, “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 landscape and seascape.”
  • Prepared by: It is prepared by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with support from the National Geographic Society, a global non-profit.

The 2020 Edition

  • The 2020 edition provides the final report on the status of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11, and looks to the future as the world prepares to adopt a new post-2020 global biodiversity framework.

What’s new in this year’s report?

  • The Report finds that the international community has made major progress towards the global target on protected and conserved area coverage, but has fallen far short on its commitments on the quality of these areas.

OECM

  • OECM are a conservation designation for areas that are achieving the effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas.
  • ·This report is the first in the series to include data on OECMs in addition to protected areas.
  • The report finds great progress since 2010 with 22.5 million km2 (16.64%) of land and inland water ecosystems and 28.1 million km2 (7.74%) of coastal waters and the ocean within documented protected and conserved areas, an increase of over 21 million km2 (42% of the current coverage) since 2010.
  • It is clear that coverage on land will considerably exceed the 17% target when data for all areas are made available, as many protected and conserved areas remain unreported.

KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity, in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.

  • On an average, 62.6 per cent of key biodiversity areas (KBA) either fully or partially overlap with protected areas and OECMs. Yet a third of KBAs lack any coverage, and less than 8% of land is both protected and connected.
  • The average percentage of each KBA within protected areas and OECMs is 43.2 per cent for terrestrial; 42.2 per cent for inland water and 44.2 per cent for marine (within national waters).
  • There was an increase of 5 percentage points or less in each case since 2010, the greatest growth in marine and coastal areas, the report stated.
  • The report also identifies crucial opportunities for further improving the protected and conserved area network under the next set of global nature targets.
    • A new framework of goals is due to be agreed upon at the United Nations Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China, on October 11 this year.

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