As countries iron out a deal to protect nature at the COP15 biodiversity conference in Montreal, a petition backed by 3.2 million citizens worldwide has called for a more ambitious target of at least 50 per cent conservation and protection of lands and oceans by 2030.

Most of the 196 countries meeting in Montreal, including India, have backed a 30 per cent figure for protecting lands and oceans. However, a final agreement is due to be completed on December 19.

Observers argue that the 30 by 30 target, conceived in the drafting negotiation process between 2019 and early 2020, is now an outdated figure based on the latest understanding of science and technology.

The Fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP15) is held in Kunming, China and Montreal, Canada, in two phases. Phase one took place virtually, from October 11-15, 2021 and included a High-Level Segment from October 12-13. Phase two is currently happening in Montreal, Canada, from December 7-19, 2022.

What is 30x30 target?

• The 30x30 target is a global target, which aims to halt the accelerating loss of species, and protect vital ecosystems that are the source of our economic security.

• The goal is to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and at least 30 per cent of the world’s ocean by 2030.

• In order to address both the biodiversity crisis and the climate crisis, there is growing scientific research that half of the planet must be kept in a natural state. Some papers have suggested that the number should be even higher, and some have suggested slightly lower. 

• Despite this, experts agree that a scientifically credible and necessary interim goal is to achieve a minimum of 30 per cent protection by 2030. 

• There is a wealth of scientific data documenting the need for increased spatial targets in order to help achieve goals related to biodiversity conservation, which help justify the 30x30 target both at a global level and a regional level. 

• At the 10th Conference of the Parties in October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan, the 193 Parties to the Convention agreed on a ten-year global Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020 to combat biodiversity loss over the next decade and defined 20 concrete targets, known as the Aichi targets, in order to achieve this overall objective. 

• When the Aichi Targets were established in 2010, roughly 13 per cent of the world’s terrestrial areas were protected while very few protections existed in the ocean.

• Currently, an estimated 15 per cent of the world’s land and 7 per cent of the ocean are protected. In order to achieve the goal of protecting at least 30 per cent by 2030, we will need to double the current land protections and more than quadruple current ocean protections.

• The Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will be the first global framework on biodiversity adopted since the Aichi Biodiversity Targets in 2010.

• According to a 2020 CBD report, none of these targets have been fully met.

• The planet is experiencing its largest loss of life since the dinosaur era ended: one million plant and animal species are now threatened with extinction, according to a UN report.

Convention on Biological Diversity

• The Earth’s biological resources are vital to our economic and social development but human activities are taking a toll on many animal and plant species. A legal framework exists for countries all over the world to protect biodiversity together: the Convention on Biological Diversity.

• The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the international legal instrument for “the conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources” that has been ratified by 196 nations.

• The United States has not ratified the convention.

• The text of the Convention was adopted on May 22, 1992 in Nairobi and was opened to signature on June 5, 1992, during the Rio Earth Summit. Within a year, it had received 168 signatures. It entered into force on December 29, 1993.

• Its overall objective is to encourage actions, which will lead to a sustainable future.

• The Convention on Biological Diversity covers biodiversity at all levels: ecosystems, species and genetic resources. 

• It also covers biotechnology, including through the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. 

• In fact, it covers all possible domains that are directly or indirectly related to biodiversity and its role in development, ranging from science, politics and education to agriculture, business, culture and much more.

• The CBD’s governing body is the Conference of the Parties (COP). This ultimate authority of all governments (or Parties) that have ratified the treaty meets every two years to review progress, set priorities and commit to work plans.

• The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD) is based in Montreal, Canada. Its main function is to assist governments in the implementation of the CBD and its programmes of work, to organise meetings, draft documents, and coordinate with other international organizations and collect and spread information. The Executive Secretary is the head of the Secretariat.

• On January 29, 2000, the Conference of the Parties to the CBD adopted a supplementary agreement to the Convention known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety. It is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. 

• The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to the Convention on Biological Diversity. It is an international agreement which aims at sharing the benefits arising from the utilisation of genetic resources in a fair and equitable way. It entered into force on October 12, 2014.

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