Governments globally have fallen short of the pledge to conserve 30% of the ocean by 2030, a report from Metabolic Consulting with support from Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Ocean Initiative, Campaign for Nature, the Marine Conservation Institute and SkyTruth has shown. Two years into the world’s commitment to the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30×30 Target to protect 30% of the Earth’s surface, countries are significantly off track to meet their pledge, the report noted ahead of COP16. Global marine protection has increased by just 0.5% since the target was set, meaning only 2.8% of oceans are likely to be effectively protected, while just 8.3% are designated as marine protected areas (MPAs). Most of those areas are protected in name only, and so loosely regulated that substantial harmful activities within them are allowed to continue. As of 23 September, just 19 countries and EU member states had submitted National Biodiversity Strategies and Actions Plans to the UN Convention on Biodiversity Secretariat – a “critical step” in the biodiversity conservation process, the report noted. At the current rate of progression, only 9.7% of the ocean will be protected by 2030, the report estimated. “Protecting and conserving at least 30% of the world’s ocean is vital to safeguard marine biodiversity and the billions of people who depend on it for their livelihoods and food security,” John Kerry, former US Secretary of State, and José María Figueres, ex-president of Costa Rica, said in a foreword to the report. “It is also essential to preserving the ocean’s ability to act as our greatest climate ally by absorbing billions of tonnes of carbon emissions every year.” The report also warned that a broad definition of MPAs is applied inconsistently across countries, leaving scope for ‘blue washing’ and allowing the continuation of activities incompatible with effective biodiversity – including industrial-scale fishing, oil and gas extraction, mining, dredging, and dumping. The research was based on analysis led by the Marine Conservation Institute, with data shared by ocean experts who assessed nearly 90% of global MPAs.
