Biodiversity intactness in protected areas is declining faster than in non-protected areas, according to new analysis from the Natural History Museum (NHM).
The findings, published last week, underline the importance of revising the approach to conservation efforts as world leaders gather at the Conference of Parties to the Convention of Biological Diversity (COP16) this month.
In 2022, the Kunming – Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was signed by parties of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity to conserve 30 per cent of land and water by 2030, known as the ’30by30′ target.
However, NHM analysis, carried out using the Museum’s Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII), found that only 22 per cent of areas rich in biodiversity and delivering the most critical ecosystem services are protected.
The Biodiversity Intactness Index is an estimated percentage of the original number of species and their remaining abundance in any given area, despite human impacts.
The findings revealed that in areas delivering the most critical ecosystem services that are not protected, biodiversity has declined by an average 1.91 percentage points between 2000 and 2020. Areas that are currently “protected” are also suffering faster rates of biodiversity loss, with a decrease of 2.12 percentage points.
“We need to move beyond the current approach to designating protected areas and place more emphasis on the quality of those areas, their effective management and the value they return for people and nature,” said NHM in a press release.
The NHM also launched a call for action, providing recommendations for the implementation of 30by30. This included:
- Alongside species protection, more attention needs to be paid to land conservation in areas with the most critical ecosystem services for people.
- Develop a more dynamic and monitored process whereby areas can be ‘managed up’ to a state of greater resilience.
- Increasing capacity at both national and international levels to monitor and model biodiversity change in a timely, thorough and meaningful way.