The world is waging a ‘war on nature’ as progress in achieving biodiversity targets lags

A landmark agreement reached in Montreal in 2022 – the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework – sets out a vision of “living in harmony with nature” by 2050, and urgent action is needed by 2030.

This new report shows that the world is falling behind.

“Biodiversity underlies life on Earth,” UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres wrote in the report. “Maintaining biodiversity is important critical to the health of our planet, the resilience of our economy, and the well-being of all people.”

Left behind

One of the main goals of this agreement is to protect at least 30 percent of the world’s land, inland waters, coasts and oceans by 2030.

Even if current commitments are met, only 26 percent of the land and 12 percent of the ocean will be protected by that deadlinethe report found.

Progress also lags in terms of money, skills, collaboration and data, as well as in terms of economic incentives that provide benefits for nature protection rather than destruction.

“This bad news means the war on nature is not over,” Guterres said at the launch of the report in Yerevan.

He warned that the world is still trapped in three interrelated crises: climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.

Glass half full

But there has been some progress since 2022.

Nearly 90 percent of member countries of the Convention on Biological Diversity have set national targets, and more than half have developed their own plans to achieve those targets.

More than 70 percent have measured and reported the results.

Indigenous Peoples, local communities, regional and city authorities, charities and businesses have also made around 5,000 commitments – although the report warns there is a serious gap between ambition and action.

The road ahead

Closing the gap will require funding and expertise for developing countries on a much larger scale, the report said.

The government needs to eliminate subsidies that damage nature, strengthen social protection, shift spending to protecting nature, and work with businesses to implement strong disclosure rules.

Better coordination is also needed between government, business, civil society, young people, women and Indigenous Peoples to strengthen accountability, law enforcement and cooperation.

“Biodiversity must be part of every decision taken – in policies, regulations and budgets,” said Guterres.

“Nature will not develop if there are good intentions.”