Research indicates that biodiversity is declining faster within some critical protected areas than outside them, a trend scientists are calling a “wake-up call” for leaders at the UN’s Cop16 summit in Colombia, where discussions on halting biodiversity loss are underway.
The goal of protecting 30% of land and water for nature by 2030, established in a landmark 2022 agreement, remains central as leaders meet in Cali to assess progress and negotiate new strategies. However, researchers caution that simply designating more protected zones won’t guarantee improved outcomes for biodiversity.
According to a study by the Natural History Museum (NHM), almost a quarter of the world’s most biodiversity-rich regions are within protected areas, yet the quality of these areas is declining more rapidly than that of unprotected areas. This finding is based on the Biodiversity Intactness Index, which evaluates biodiversity health under human pressures. The report shows a 1.88% global decline in the index from 2000 to 2020. Within critical biodiversity areas—22% of which are protected—biodiversity fell by an average of 1.9 percentage points in unprotected zones and 2.1 points within protected ones over this period.
Researchers attribute this trend to factors like the focus on specific species rather than entire ecosystems, leaving total biodiversity intactness neglected. Additionally, many areas were already degraded before receiving protection. Local analyses are crucial to understanding these failures, they note.
Dr. Gareth Thomas, NHM’s head of research innovation, remarked that while the 30×30 goal has been widely embraced, simply designating “protected” areas does not necessarily safeguard biodiversity. Despite 17.5% of land and 8.4% of marine areas currently protected, stronger protections are required to meet the 2030 goal effectively.
Industrial activities, particularly in the Amazon, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia, further threaten protected zones. A report from Earth Insight highlights that over 65% of Conkouati-Douli National Park in the Republic of the Congo, one of the region’s most biodiverse protected areas, overlaps with oil and gas concessions.
Corruption, political instability, and inadequate resources also undermine conservation laws rich countries like Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Madagascar. Additionally, climate change-related wildfires and droughts disregard protected area boundaries, as seen in Australia’s national parks in 2019.
Emma Woods, policy director at NHM, emphasized that the 30×30 approach alone may not achieve significant biodiversity and ecosystem benefits without stronger implementation efforts. Dr. Thomas hopes the study’s insights will prompt policymakers to understand that conservation requires more than hitting numerical targets.
Ben Groom, biodiversity economics professor at Exeter University, noted that while support for 30×30 is promising, shallow policy implementation risks undermining its potential, as quality protection should be prioritized alongside numerical goals.
