Abstract:

Background & Aims: The continuous loss of biodiversity has become one of the most serious environmental challenges in the world, the next 7 years will be the key to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. The achievement of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) mechanism has brought new hope for global biodiversity governance, and provided a pathway to halt and reverse biodiversity loss trends. As the core element of the GBF, the 30 by 30 target successfully adopted with the support of extensive actions of the international community and a large number of scientific researches. This paper reviews the origin and development process of the 30 by 30 target based on its global development trends and international policy promotion, and analyzes the change and development of its key elements such as area proportion, spatial extension, protection effectiveness of the protected area (PA) system, and inclusive management methods in PA. Combined with the successful experience of existing international processes, this paper explores the path to achieve the 30 by 30 target through a large number of scientific research as well.
Results: The gradual increase in the 30 by 30 target from 10% to 30% has not yet met the expectations of the scientific community, but has contributed to the efforts of countries and the expansion of the global network of PA. Other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), improving the quality of PA, and the involvement of stakeholders, such as indigenous peoples and local communities, can significantly strength the protection of land and sea. The pathway to achieve the 30 by 30 target including strong international policy guidance, firm and effective financial security, in-depth and rigorous scientific research, responsible national action and broad inclusive participation and collaboration of stakeholders. At the same time, we recognize that it has been less than seven years since it was expected to be achieved. To achieve the ambitious 30 by 30 target and truly halt and reverse the biodiversity loss and decline, there are several challenges, including expand the PA system while improving quality; overcome the gap of PA survey data and the limited monitoring measures; the limitations of understanding the marine PA; the exploration of inclusive management methods and the integration of national goals at the global scale. We recommend that the quality of PA should be paid more attention than quantitative targets, strengthen PA monitoring to address data gaps, raise awareness of the importance of marine PA, and explore inclusive management approaches for PA, and strengthen the integration and implementation of the global target at the national scale.
Conclusion & Recommendation: The 30 by 30 target is not only a politically driven goal, but its research, consultation and implementation process also reflect new perspectives on the integration of science, traditional knowledge and international policy systems, reflecting emerging scientific insights, social values and global challenges, prompting a phased change in the relationship between people and nature, and between people, and contributing to a new understanding of PA networks and other protected regions.

Key words: 30 by 30 target, biodiversity, protected area, OECM, Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, global biodiversity governance