Protected Planet Report 2020

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Recently, the Protected Planet Report 2020 has been published.

About the Report

Published by
- United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC).
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
- Support from the National Geographic Society (global non-profit).
It underlined the progress the world has made toward the ambitious Aichi Biodiversity Target 11.
- These are a set of 20 targets set and agreed by countries in 2010 at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity.
- It aimed to conserve 17 per cent of land and inland water ecosystems and 10 per cent of its coastal waters and oceans by 2020.
- A new framework of goals is due to be agreed upon at the UN Biodiversity Conference in Kunming, China (to be held in October 2021).

(Image Courtesy: Sciencedirect)

The report provided a strong starting point from which to begin working towards these ambitious goals.
It is the first in the series to include data on ‘Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures’ (OECMs) in addition to protected areas.
- OECMs are a conservation designation for areas that are achieving the effective in-situ conservation of biodiversity outside of protected areas.

Major Findings

As many as 82 per cent of countries and territories have increased their share of protected area and coverage of OECM since 2010.
Since 2010, over 21 million square kilometres have been placed within protected and conserved areas, meaning that 42 per cent of the area now within protected and conserved areas has been added in the last decade.
As a result, at least 22.5 million square kilometres (16.64 per cent) of land and inland water ecosystems and 28.1 million square kilometers (7.74 per cent) of coastal waters and the ocean are within protected areas and OECMs as of May 2021.
On an average, 62.6 percent of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) either fully or partially overlap with protected areas and OECMs.
- KBAs are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity, in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems.
- The average percentage of each KBA within protected areas and OECMs is 43.2 per cent for terrestrial; 42.2 percent for inland water and 44.2 percent for marine (within national waters).
There was an increase of 5 percentage points or less in each case since 2010, the greatest growth in marine and coastal areas.

Suggestions

It calls for existing protected and conserved areas to be identified and recognised by accounting for the efforts of indigenous peoples, local communities and private entities.
A global network of effective and equitable protected and conserved areas will play a vital role in safeguarding the health of people and the planet for generations to come.
Protected and conserved areas need to be managed effectively and efficiently to prevent further ecosystem degradation and consolidate progress on the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030).

United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre

It is a collaboration between the UNEP and the UK charity, WCMC.
Mission: To provide authoritative information about biodiversity and ecosystem services in a way that is useful to decision makers who are driving change in environment and development policy.
It works with scientists and policy makers to enable enlightened choices for people and the planet.
It has experience of working with decision makers at national, regional and local scales in the following sectors: Environment, Climate change, Agriculture, Oil, Gas, Mining, Finance, Fisheries, Aquaculture and Tourism.
It is based in Cambridge, UK.

International Union for Conservation of Nature

It is a democratic Union that brings together the world’s most influential organisations and top experts in a combined effort to conserve nature and accelerate the transition to sustainable development.
It harnesses the experience, resources and reach of its more than 1,400 member organisations and the input of more than 18,000 experts.
Every four years, it convenes the IUCN World Conservation Congress where IUCN Members set the global conservation agenda by voting on recommendations and guide the Secretariat’s work by passing resolutions and the IUCN Programme.
The IUCN Council is the principal governing body of IUCN between sessions of the World Conservation Congress..
Headquarters: Gland, near Geneva, Switzerland.

UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration

It challenges everyone to massively scale up restoration efforts that breathe new life into our degraded ecosystems.
It will be officially launched on the World Environment Day (5^th June) 2021.
- It runs from 2021 through 2030, which is also the deadline for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the timeline scientists have identified as the last chance to prevent catastrophic climate change.
Aims
- To prevent, halt and reverse the degradation of ecosystems on every continent and in every ocean.
- To end poverty, combat climate change and prevent a mass extinction.
It is led by the UNEP and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

Source: DTE

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