Only 3.5% of the global ocean is effectively protected, although about 10% is designated for conservation, according to a report published on September 23 by Together for the Ocean. The assessment says current commitments would cover only about 12% by 2030, far below the international goal of protecting and conserving at least 30%. The findings put ocean protection at the center of the next round of global biodiversity talks.
Nearly 200 countries adopted the 30% target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework in 2022. The new Ocean Protection Gap Report, authored by Systemiq and produced with conservation partners, examines the difference between announcing protected areas and managing them effectively. Reuters reported that a companion global assessment found about 20% of land and inland waters under formal protection or conservation.
The ocean report uses fully and highly protected areas as a proxy for effective protection. It warns that some areas counted toward conservation targets still permit damaging activities, including bottom trawling. It estimates that about 33% of mangroves are in designated areas but only 0.3% are fully or highly protected; for seagrass, the corresponding figures are 34% and 1.1%. These are measures of protection status, not direct measurements of every ecosystem's condition.
Finance is another gap. The report estimates that achieving the marine target requires about $16 billion a year, against current spending of roughly $1.8 billion. It says around half of coastal countries have a time-bound, quantified national ocean target. Existing quantified pledges, even if fulfilled, would leave most of the ocean outside the 2030 designation goal.
The findings add pressure ahead of the UN biodiversity conference in Yerevan, Armenia, beginning October 19. The report calls for stronger national plans, sustained funding, monitoring and enforcement, as well as protection beyond national waters under the High Seas Treaty. The Convention on Biological Diversity has separately said its draft global review finds that implementation must accelerate to meet the framework's goals.
Governments will have to decide how to turn designated zones into lasting safeguards and whether to expand commitments before 2030. The report's 3.5% estimate depends on its chosen measure of effective protection, and the projected 12% coverage depends on countries delivering existing pledges. The coming UN review will test how those pledges translate into action.
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