“Protected Planet Report” 2020 Released by UNEP

What is the News? UNEP released the Protected Planet Report 2020.

About Protected Planet Report 2020:

• Released by: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• Purpose: The report takes stock of measures taken to fulfill the aims of Aichi Target 11. Aichi Target 11 called for protecting 17% of Earth’s land and 10% of its marine environments by 2020.
• Further, the report also lays the groundwork for a new framework aimed at protecting nature. It will be decided upon at the UN Biodiversity Conference, scheduled for October 2021 in Kunming, China.
• Moreover, the report is the first to include data on other effective area-based conservation measures(OECM) taken outside protected areas. OECM conservation designation is given to the areas for achieving effective in-situ biodiversity conservation outside protected areas.

Key Findings:

• Increase in Protected Areas and OECM: As many as 82% of countries and territories register an increase in the share of protected areas and OECM since 2010.
  • Protected Areas are clearly defined geographical space. These are recognised, dedicated, and managed through legal or other effective means to achieve the long-term conservation of nature with associated ecosystem services and cultural values.
• Since 2010, protected areas covering almost a million square kilometers have been added to the global network. This area is greater than the land area of the Russian Federation.
• Over the 10-year period, the greatest growth in protected areas and OECMs has been in marine and coastal areas. Around 68% of the current network’s area is less than 10 years old.
• Around 62.6% of key biodiversity areas (KBA) either fully or partially overlap with protected areas and OECMs.
  • Key Biodiversity Areas(KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity in terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems.

What are Aichi Biodiversity Targets?

• Aichi Biodiversity Targets are a set of 20 targets classified under 5 Strategic Goals. They were included in the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity for the 2011-2020 period.
• Adoption of the targets happened at the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties of the Convention on Biological Diversity(CBD).
• Purpose: The development of targets happened to prevent the loss of biological diversity in each participating country.

Source: Down To Earth