Talk is cheap: Nations must act now to achieve long-term ambitions for biodiversity

Watson, James; Simmonds, Jeremy S.; Narain, Divya; Ward, Michelle; Maron, Martine; Maxwell, Sean

doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2021.06.012

Cited by 32 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…A potentially larger source of uncertainty in linking percentage‐protected targets and outcome goals involves what happens in the broader landscape (i.e., whether strictly protected areas will be surrounded by developed matrix or instead complemented by other conservation areas and sustainable resource management) (Maxwell et al., 2020; Watson et al., 2021). That protected areas should go hand‐in‐hand with conservation across the broader landscape is well accepted and formed the impetus for the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) program's concept of biosphere reserves (Batisse, 1982) and other conservation zoning approaches, such as multiple‐use modules (Noss & Harris, 1986).…”

Section: Better Integration Of Conserved Areas Into Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How percentage‐protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes

Carroll

Noss

2022

Conservation Biology

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Global targets for the percentage area of land protected, such as 30% by 2030, have gained increasing prominence, but both their scientific basis and likely effectiveness have been questioned. As with emissions‐reduction targets based on desired climate outcomes, percentage‐protected targets combine values and science by estimating the area over which conservation actions are required to help achieve desired biodiversity outcomes. Protected areas are essential for achieving many biodiversity targets, in part because many species are highly sensitive to human‐associated disturbance. However, because the contribution of protected areas to biodiversity outcomes is contingent on their location, management, governance, threats, and what occurs across the broader landscape matrix, global percentage‐protected targets are unavoidably empirical generalizations of ecological patterns and processes across diverse geographies. Percentage‐protected targets are insufficient in isolation but can complement other actions and contribute to biodiversity outcomes within a framework that balances accuracy and pragmatism in a global context characterized by imperfect biodiversity data. Ideally, percentage‐protected targets serve as anchors that strengthen comprehensive national biodiversity strategies by communicating the level of ambition necessary to reverse current trends of biodiversity loss. If such targets are to fulfill this role within the complex societal process by which both values and science impel conservation actions, conservation scientists must clearly communicate the nature of the evidence base supporting percentage‐protected targets and how protected areas can function within a broader landscape managed for sustainable coexistence between people and nature. A new paradigm for protected and conserved areas recognizes that national coordination, incentives, and monitoring should support rather than undermine diverse locally led conservation initiatives. However, the definition of a conserved area must retain a strong focus on biodiversity to remain consistent with the evidence base from which percentage‐protected targets were originally derived.

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Section: Better Integration Of Conserved Areas Into Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

How percentage‐protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes

Carroll

Noss

2022

Conservation Biology

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“…The GBF embodies a paradigm shift in society's approach to protecting biodiversity, analogous to recent shifts in perspective regarding the necessary pace of change to respond to the climate crisis (Watson et al, 2021). The GBF frames its goals and targets within what has been termed a "Nature Positive" paradigm, whose overarching goal is to reverse rather than merely slow or even halt biodiversity loss (Locke et al, 2021).…”

Section: Ensuring An Ambitious Nature-positive Approach In Us and Eu ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although in this review we focused on the ways in which the GBF represents an advance over existing US and EU policies, we recognize that the GBF itself is a work in progress. Many of the broader challenges we have identified, such as ensuring policy coherently reflects the complex linkages between drivers of biodiversity loss, have been identified as areas where the GBF can be furthered strengthened (Watson et al, 2021;Leadley et al, 2022). One of the benefits of our focus on both the US and EU rather than on a single CBD party is the ability to highlight common challenges and barriers to implementation.…”

Section: Common Challenges and Barriers To Gbf Implementation In Us A...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Mainstreaming the Ambition, Coherence, and Comprehensiveness of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Into Conservation Policy

Carroll

Rohlf²,

Epstein

2022

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity are finalizing a new Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) to more effectively guide efforts by the world’s nations to address global loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services. Each party is required to mainstream the new framework and its component targets into national conservation strategies. To date, such strategies have been criticized as largely aspirational and lacking clear linkages to national policy mechanisms, which has contributed to the world’s general failure to meet the Convention’s previous targets. We use the United States and European Union as examples to compare and contrast opportunities and barriers for mainstreaming the GBF more effectively into policy. The European Union and United States have unique relationships to the Convention, the former being the only supranational party and the latter, having signed but never ratified the treaty, adopting Convention targets on an ad hoc basis. The contrasting conservation policy frameworks of these two polities illustrate several conceptual issues central to biodiversity conservation and demonstrate how insights from the GBF can strengthen biodiversity policy even in atypical contexts. We focus on three characteristics of the GBF which are essential if policy is to effectively motivate and guide efforts to halt and reverse biodiversity loss: comprehensiveness, coherence, and ambition. Statutes in both the United States and European Union provide a strong foundation for mainstreaming the GBF’s comprehensiveness, coherence, and ambition, but policy development and implementation falls short. We identify six common themes among the reforms needed to successfully achieve targets for reversing biodiversity loss: broadening conservation focus to all levels of biodiversity, better coordinating conservation strategies that protect sites and landscapes with those focused on biodiversity elements (e.g., species), coordinating biodiversity conservation with efforts to safeguard ecosystem services including ecosystem-based climate mitigation and adaptation, more coherent scaling of targets from global to local extents, adoption of a more ambitious vision for recovery of biodiversity, and development of effective tracking and accountability mechanisms.

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“…Given these challenges, Parties to the CBD are beginning to acknowledge that the traditional piecemeal approach to conserving biodiversity is failing (Watson et al 2021). In particular, maintaining and enhancing ecosystem connectivity across socio-ecologically diverse regions of Canada will require new and transformative approaches that transcend traditional conservation practices.…”

Section: Key Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Considering that virtually no progress was made on (the vaguely worded) connectivity-focused targets detailed under the former Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 and its associated Targets, achieving the heightened connectivity goals, targets, and milestones contained within the Post-2020 GBF will require nothing short of transformational change across governance, economic, and social systems. Indeed, ambition needs to be equalled by action (Watson et al 2021). While recent commitments by several Parties to the CBD to protect 30% of land and marine area by 2030 (Target 2) should be lauded, there is overwhelming evidence to suggest that agencies and organizations responsible for protected and conserved areas face significant, often systemic, human and financial resource constraints (Lemieux et al 2021a).…”

Section: Key Challengesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Transformational changes for achieving the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework ecological connectivity goals

Lemieux

Beazley

MacKinnon³

et al. 2022

FACETS

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The first draft of the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) includes an unprecedented call for states that have ratified the treaty (Parties) to implement measures to maintain and enhance ecological connectivity as urgent actions to abate further biodiversity loss and ecosystem decline. Considering the challenges that lie ahead for Parties to the CBD, we highlight the ways in which effective and equitable connectivity conservation can be achieved through four transformative changes, including: (1) mainstreaming connectivity retention and restoration within biodiversity conservation sector and influencing sectors (e.g., transportation, energy, agriculture, forestry); (2) mainstreaming financial resources and incentives to support effective implementation; (3) fostering collaboration with a focus on cross-sector collective action; and (4) investing in diverse forms of knowledge (co-)production and management in support of adaptive governance. We detail 15 key actions that can be used to support the implementation of these transformative changes. While ambitious, the transformative changes and associated key actions recommended in this perspective will need to be put in place with unprecedented urgency, coherency, and coordination if Parties to the CBD truly aspire to achieve the goals and targets of the forthcoming Post-2020 GBF in this new decade of biodiversity.

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Talk is cheap: Nations must act now to achieve long-term ambitions for biodiversity

Cited by 32 publications

References 15 publications

How percentage‐protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes

How percentage‐protected targets can support positive biodiversity outcomes

Mainstreaming the Ambition, Coherence, and Comprehensiveness of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework Into Conservation Policy

Transformational changes for achieving the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework ecological connectivity goals

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