Countries are pledging to protect a third of the planet to stop mass extinctions

Nearly 200 countries participating in the Biodiversity Summit, COP15, pledged in writing that 30% of the planet would be conserved to stop the accelerated disappearance of species. A third of all terrestrial, aquatic, coastal and marine ecosystems are “of particularly special importance,” according to an agreement reached this Monday in Montreal, Canada.

The compromise gives all states participating in the conference eight years to implement these natural protections. However, there are no sanction mechanisms for non-compliant parties. The ultimate goal is to halt the extinction of already threatened species by 2050 and reduce the current global extinction rate tenfold.

The government’s third vice president, Teresa Ribera, who participated in the talks, noted the end result: “We were finally able to agree on a global framework that will guide our efforts.”

Spain currently has un protecting 36% of its land surface, but the works are offshore, where this percentage is 12.3%. .

The idea behind COP15 was to create a legislative framework to tackle the biodiversity crisis, which has accelerated like never before due to human actions. The agreement covers more or less general objectives that the countries adhere to. Thus, it pledged to reduce pollution from “any source” to levels that are not harmful to species or ecosystems by 2030.

Among the pollutants specifically stated: “Reduce [para 2030] halving the nutrients lost in the environment”, i.e. fertilizers used in intensive agriculture; And it also leaves “at least 50%” of the risks associated with pesticides and highly hazardous chemicals.

It also mentions damage from invasive alien species, which must be “eliminated or controlled in priority areas” by 2030, in addition to reducing the introduction or establishment of “other potentially invasive species” by 50%.

The agreement promises that the collection and trade of wild species is “sustainable, safe and legal, while minimizing overexploitation and impacts on non-commercial species”. An allusion, though not directly, to industrial fishing.

“It’s an agreement with chiaroscuro,” analyzes SEO-Birdlife’s Environmental Management Officer Juan Carlos Atienza. “Agreeing to protect 30% of ecosystems is a success, but not including quantitative targets to halt species extinction will make monitoring compliance very difficult.”

For Ecologists in Action, “an opportunity has been lost” because, in their view, “it does not address the root causes of biodiversity loss.” And they countered that it was “more important” than the percentage of protected areas that are effectively protected. If protecting 30% of natural space allows us to destroy 70%, it’s clearly not a good deal.

As for the conservation bill, this new framework says $200,000 million will be “mobilized” annually through 2030. 30,000 million from 2030.

“It’s not enough,” argues Atienza, who also criticizes “all sources of funding, among which mass tourism can be,” he concludes.