A close look into the Campaign for Nature

Written in collaboration with The Partnership for Responsible Business Last updated 08/20/2021.

Global conservation efforts have become increasingly ambitious. They’ve had to be. And the 30x30 Campaign might be the most ambitious yet.

Global environmental policy has largely focused on the issue of climate change for the past two decades. But the planet is also currently experiencing a sharp decline in biodiversity rates. And major climate change efforts like the Paris Agreement, which aimed to curb greenhouse gas emissions “as soon as possible,” do not directly affect the planet’s collapsing biodiversity rates or preservation of mass ecosystems.

The loss of biodiversity threatens our clean air, drinking water, the survival of wildlife, community prosperity, and resources, and other intensifying impacts of a climate crisis. So, the Campaign for Nature emerged as a response.

What is the 30x30 Campaign?

The Campaign for Nature, or 30x30 campaign, is a science-based initiative to conserve 30 percent of global lands and waters by 2030, protecting biodiversity and alleviating the impacts of climate change. It was born out of a partnership between the Wyss Campaign for Nature, National Geographic Society, and a growing coalition of more than 100 conservation organizations around the world.

The campaign calls on policymakers to commit to these ambitious efforts at the Conference of Parties in October 2021.

Here are the specific demands of the 30x30 Campaign:

• commit to protecting at least 30 percent of the planet by 2030; help mobilize financial resources to ensure protected areas are properly managed; and,

• approach biodiversity conservation in a way that fully integrates and respects indigenous leadership and indigenous rights

Although some might criticize the campaign’s ambition, others like conservation biologist Tom Lovejoy, champion it. Lovejoy quotes: “This is the level of ambition we need because this is the last chance to secure a functional living planet for people and other forms of life.”

The opportunity to increase our efforts is approaching quickly- at the Conference of the Parties in October 2021. The global goals of biodiversity and restoration efforts, known as the Aichi Targets, expired at the end of 2020. It’s time to establish some new ones. And the 30x30 campaign is asking for a critical, albeit large step in conservation efforts.

The campaign only continues to grow; on January 27, 2021, President Biden released an executive order committing his administration to the 30x30 conservation goal. (According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. is currently conserving around 26 percent of coastal waters and 12 percent of land.)

Why 30 percent?

Globally, only 15 percent of land and 7 percent of the ocean is protected.

We don’t know for sure what percent of Earth would need to be protected to reverse environmental damage. But most environmentalists agree that more is better. Our goals will need to be more ambitious as the climate crisis continues to worsen.

The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were a 10-year plan sub-divided into 20 targets for protecting and conserving natural systems. The previously protected area targets for conservation were 17 percent for land and 10 percent for oceans. And even though we are on track to meet those goals, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the goals weren’t lofty enough.

Environmental studies continue to show that not only do our goals need to be lofty, but they are also time sensitive. While some of the studies urge for even more aggressive goals (some scientists say even half of our nature or more needs to be preserved), the 30x30 campaign manages to create obtainable short-term goals for environmental policy.

Successes in conservation efforts

Sometimes, the climate crisis can seem so formidable that overcoming it seems like too lofty a goal. And the importance of managing the climate crisis cannot be underscored enough. But past conservation efforts continue to prove the resilience of our environment- so there is definitely room for cautious optimism.

The Campaign for Nature spotlights one case study from the 1990s in Cabo Pulmo, near Baja California, Mexico. After this underwater desert became so barren that fishermen couldn’t find enough food, the fisherman, remarkably, stopped fishing.

The result? The total fish biomass in the reserve increased by more than 460% and large predators like groupers, sharks and jacks had returned.

But conservation efforts have also proven to be taking measurable effect on an international scale. One team of scientists, for example, conducted a survey to find out how many bird and mammal species have been saved from extinction through conservation efforts.

The survey determined that conservation policy actions have prevented 21 to 32 extinctions of birds and seven to 16 extinctions of mammals since 1993; and nine to 18 bird extinctions and two to seven mammal extinctions since 2010. While 10 bird species and five mammal species did go extinct, these researchers predict that extinction rates could have been nearly three to four times higher.

Conservation efforts like the 30x30 campaign hold space for community voices to demand action from policymakers. They lead us through major, critical steps in managing the climate crisis and protecting biodiversity. It's necessary and urgent, and the deadline is approaching quickly.

Campaigns like this only work when everyone voices their opinions. Time and time again, we watch world leaders promise and fail to rise to the occasion of climate change. Sign and spread the word about this petition will raise the voices of environmentalists around the world, and call on world leaders to commit to protecting 30% of the land by 2030.