Thirteen Global Conservation Organizations Call on Nations to Protect At Least 30 Percent of the Planet by 2030

Photo Credit: Nature and Culture International, Huamboya Municipal Conservation Area in Central Ecuador

A group of thirteen conservation organizations with a footprint on all eight continents have issued a joint statement, calling upon global decision-makers to safeguard the Earth’s remaining wild places by setting ambitious goals for the protection of the planet’s lands and oceans. This comes as negotiators are meeting in Japan to begin developing a plan to safeguard biodiversity, which will be finalized next year when the Conference of Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity meets in Beijing.

The joint statement calls on nations to increase international protected area targets, with the goal of protecting at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030. The Wyss Campaign for Nature issued the following statement from Senior Fellow and Communications Director Greg Zimmerman:

The planet is losing wildlife and wild places at an unprecedented rate. Over the next two years, world leaders have an opportunity to chart a new path for our Earth’s remaining wild places by committing to protecting 30 percent of our planet by 2030 and dedicating sufficient funding to effectively manage protected areas. Developing this new, more ambitious plan to protect biodiversity is essential to the health and well-being of every person on every continent. The negotiations this week in Japan offer an opportunity for nations to get off to a fast start toward a bold new global agreement in 2020.

• Learn More about the Convention on Biological Diversity and the effort protect at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030

• Learn More about the Wyss Campaign for Nature, a $1 billion investment to scale global conservation ambitions and protect at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030