Global conservation area coverage substantially exceeds current estimates

O’Neill, Helen M. K., Beeken, Joe, Bingham, Heather C., Golden Kroner, Rachel E., He, Yifan, Stewart, Jessica L., Ali, Adil Mohamed, Beltran, Javier, Bull, Joseph W., Canney, Susan, and others. (2023) Global conservation area coverage substantially exceeds current estimates. Nature, . ISSN 0028-0836. E-ISSN 1476-4687. (doi:10.1038/s41586-026-11157-4) (KAR id:116955)

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Official URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-11157-4

Abstract

Conservation areas are critical for tackling the global environmental crisis1. These sites are reported as covering 18.5% of the terrestrial realm2 and governments have committed through Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3 to increase this to at least 30% by 2030 (ref. 3). There are concerns that this potential near-doubling of conservation area coverage will negatively affect vulnerable people and over-stretch conservation resources4. However, nationally available datasets indicate that more conservation areas exist than are reflected in global figures5,6,7. We evaluated progress towards the area component of Target 3 using a globally representative sample across 25 countries and territories that incorporated these national datasets8. Extrapolating from this sample, we show that conservation areas likely already cover 26.81% of the terrestrial realm. We may be much closer to achieving 30% terrestrial coverage than previously thought. However, we also show that the extra land does not substantially address gaps in ecological representativeness, indicating that solely meeting the area component of Target 3 will do little to solve continuing global biodiversity loss. More focus and resources are needed to achieve the other components of the target, using a more strategic and inclusive approach to fill present gaps and produce equitable and effective conservation area networks.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1038/s41586-026-11157-4
Subjects:	Q Science > QH Natural history > QH75 Conservation (Biology)
Institutional Unit:	Schools > School of Natural Sciences Schools > School of Natural Sciences > Conservation Institutes > Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
Former Institutional Unit:	There are no former institutional units.
Funders:	Natural Environment Research Council (https://ror.org/02b5d8509)
Depositing User:	Bob Smith
Date Deposited:	15 Oct 2026 08:53 UTC
Last Modified:	16 Oct 2026 14:46 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/116955 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Dharmaratne, Nuwanthika Akushla.

Creator's ORCID:
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Davies, Zoe G..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0767-1467
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

Smith, Robert J..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1599-9171
CReDIT Contributor Roles:

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