Cali, Colombia - October 20, 2024

The 2024 Protected Planet Report, which calls for urgent actions to achieve the 2030 global target, was released during the ongoing 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP16) in Cali, Colombia, on Monday.

At a press conference during COP16, the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) unveiled the report, which was compiled by experts from both organizations and aims to provide the latest official data to governments and other stakeholders.

The report calls for an urgent global commitment to protect 30 percent of the Earth’s lands, coastal areas, and inland waters by 2030. It said that by that year, the area of protected and conserved lands must double to 12.4 percent, and the area of protected oceans must triple to over 21.6 percent in order to achieve this target.

These protected areas are crucial for halting and reversing biodiversity loss while also providing significant cultural and economic benefits, it says.

The report further notes that "protected and conserved areas are not always established in the places that most need conserving," highlighting that only one-fifth of the areas identified as critically important for biodiversity are fully protected. Additionally, there is little evidence that these areas are equitably governed.

The findings of the report will guide countries in formulating policies, it said.

First, while making progress in expanding the coverage of protected areas, equivalent efforts must be made to ensure that these areas are well connected. Secondly, it calls for recognition and support to indigenous and traditional territories. Thirdly, commitments must be fulfilled to provide international financing to developing countries to support the expansion of protected areas. Finally, data must be available at the global level timely.

COP16, which began on Oct 21, gathered more than 15,000 participants from over 190 countries, including global environmental ministers and ecological experts, making the most attendance of its kind since the conference's inception in 1994.

Shotlist:
Cali, Colombia - Oct 20, 2024:
FILE: Bogota, Colombia - Date Unknown
1. Aerial shots of forest;
FILE: Victoria, Seychelles - Jan 4, 2017
2. Various of sea, island;
FILE: Seychelles - Date Unknown
3. Aerial shot of island, coastal scene;
4. Various of fish in ocean;
FILE: Torres del Paine National Park, Chile - Aug 7-13, 2023
5. Various of snow-capped mountains, glaciers;
6. Horses foraging, resting on grassland, snow mountains;
FILE: Santiago, Chile - Date Unknown
7. Scorching sun;
FILE: Torres del Paine National Park, Chile - Aug 7-13, 2023
8. Various of melting ice;
FILE: Hainan Province, south China - Exact Location and Date Unknown
9. Aerial shots of wetland, birds;
10. Various of deer on grassland, birds forging along ocean shore;
FILE: China - Exact Location and Date Unknown
11. Various of birds forging, flying, walking;
12. Various of snow leopards;
13. Tibetan gazelles;
14. Bears;
15. Various of groundhogs;
Cali, Colombia - Oct 20, 2024
16. Various of COP 16 participants; signs, posters.

[Restriction - No access Chinese mainland]