At the UN biodiversity conference, 190 countries agreed to protect 30 percent of Earth's land and water by the end of the decade. After two weeks of negotiations in Montreal, the historic deal was struck before dawn today.
The framework commits the countries to achieve over 20 environmental targets by the year 2030. The framework is supposed to stop humans from driving species to extinction, preserve the planet's genetic diversity, and ensure that the benefits of that biodiversity are used fairly.
The provision to protect at least 30 percent of land, inland water, and coastal and marine areas by the year 2030. Without an international agreement, some governments and businesses have pushed to achieve a 30x30 goal. Even though the US and the Vatican don't formally join the UN Convention on Biodiversity, the Biden administration wants to conserve 30 percent of US land and water by the year 2030. A $1 billion to 30x30 initiative has been pledged by the Bezos Earth Fund.
The topic of conservativism through protected areas has had a bad history.
In a major international agreement similar to the Paris climate accord adopted in 2015, that target is now included. 30 percent of land and water should be protected through well- connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas, according to the framework.
The topic of conservativism through protected areas has had a bad past. The creation of national parks has led to the displacement of Indigenous communities. There are documented examples of continued human rights violations against Indigenous people.
The framework states that protected areas should respect the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.
The 30x30 target is being called a "big green lie" by some human rights advocates. Survival International said on Facebook that it would force millions of Indigenous people off their ancestral lands.
Large groups celebrated the adoption of the framework. Andrew Deutz, a director at The Nature Conservancy, said in a statement that if more people grasped the pace, severity and long-term implications of biodiversity loss, the eyes of the world might have been focused on Montreal.
A million animals and plants face extinction, more than at any other time in human history. The goal is to reduce the extinction rate of all species tenfold by the year 2020.
The task of making progress on the ground is even more difficult now that the framework has been established.
It felt like a championship game heading into extra time. Next phase of hard work already beckons for the global biodiversity community.
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