Conservation Imperatives: securing the last unprotected terrestrial sites harboring irreplaceable biodiversity
A new spatial analysis at 100m resolution identifies 16,000+ unprotected land areas harboring rare and threatened species. A first-of-its kind financial analysis is developed to estimate the cost of securing these sites under the 30x30 mandate of the GBF.
Study link: Frontiers in Science (2024)
Ambitious biodiversity goals to protect 30% or more of the Earth’s surface by 2030 (30x30) require strategic near-term targets. To define areas that must be protected to prevent the most likely and imminent extinctions, the paper defines 'Conservation Imperatives' – 16,825 unprotected sites spanning 164 Mha of the terrestrial realm that harbor rare and threatened species. Globally, 38% of these sites are either adjacent to or within 2.5 km of an existing protected area, potentially reducing land acquisition and management costs.
These sites should be prioritized for conservation action over the next 5 years as part of a broader strategy to expand the global protected area network. The expansion of global protected areas between 2018 and 2023 incorporated only 7% of sites harboring range-limited and threatened species, highlighting a renewed urgency to conserve these habitats. Permanently protecting only 0.74% of land found in the tropics, where Conservation Imperatives are concentrated, could prevent the majority of predicted near-term extinctions once adequately resourced.
A cost estimate is developed, requiring US$29 billion to US$46 billion per year over the next 5 years. Multiple approaches will be required to meet long-term protection goals, providing rights and titles to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) conserving traditional lands, government designation of new protected areas on federal and state lands, and land purchase or long-term leasing of privately held lands.
Lead author: Eric Dinerstein, Resolve
Contributing authors: Anup Joshi (U Minnesota), Nathan Hahn (Resolve), Andy Lee (Resolve), Carly Vynne (Resolve), Karl Burkart (One Earth), Gregory Asner (ASU), Charlotte Beckham (World Land Trust), Gerardo Ceballos (U Nacional Autónoma de México), Richard Cuthbert (World Land Trust), Rodolfo Dirzo (Stanford U), Oliver Fankem (Global Conservation), Sarah Hertel (One Earth), Binbin Li (Duke Kunshan U), Haley Mellin (Conserve), Félix Pharand-Deschênes (Globaia), David Olson (Conservation Earth), Bivash Pandav (Wildlife Inst. India), Carlos Peres (U East Anglia), Rudi Putra (Forum Konservasi Leuser), Amy Rosenthal (Planet Labs), Caspar Verwer (IUCN), Eric Wikramanayake (Environmental Foundation), Andrew Zolli (Planet Labs)