Protected Planet Report 2020

We are entering an era of unparalleled opportunity to address the global crisis facing nature.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a spotlight on the threat posed by biodiversity loss not just to ecosystem health, but also to the health of humans. This has generated new momentum to realise the benefits of protected and conserved areas to their full potential.

Conserving our sea of islands State of protected and conserved areas in Oceania

Conserving our sea of islands: State of protected and conserved areas in Oceania report is the first comprehensive regional assessment of protected and conserved areas. The Biodiversity and Protected Areas Management Programme (BIOPAMA) supported the preparation of this report with the following aims:
ƒ Document the status of protected and conserved areas in Oceania;
ƒ Review and outline progress made towards achieving national and international targets for protected and conserved areas, including for coverage, representativeness, connectivity and effectiveness;

GLOBAL WETLAND OUTLOOK 2025: Valuing, conserving, restoring and financing wetlands

Understanding the state and value of the world’s wetlands The Global Wetland Outlook 2025 presents a synthesis of scientific information on the value of the world’s wetlands, the costs to society due to wetland loss and degradation and the scale of investment needed to restore wetlands. It is based on the latest publications and data on the extent of inland, coastal and marine wetlands and global databases on the benefits that wetlands provide.

Little-to-no industrial fishing occurs in fully and highly protected marine areas

There is a widespread perception that illegal fishing is common in marine protected areas (MPAs) due to strong incentives for poaching and the high cost of monitoring and enforcement. Using artificial intelligence and satellite-based Earth observations, we provide estimates of industrial fishing activity in fully and highly protected MPAs worldwide, in which such fishing is banned. We find little to no activity in most cases.

Challenges and opportunities integrating remote sensing for mangrove conservation in Papua New Guinea's complex natural and human landscapes.

Papua New Guinea (PNG) is home to one of the largest mangrove habitats (6% of the world’s mangrove area), which plays a crucial role in coastal protection, carbon sequestration and supporting biodiversity and livelihoods. With such an extensive mangrove cover, monitoring at scale is invaluable for sustainable mangrove management (conservation, protection and restoration).

Implementation costs of restoring global mangrove forests

Mangroves provide numerous ecosystem services and are increasingly recognized as a natural climate solution. As a result, multiple recent initiatives have set ambitious mangrove restoration targets. However, there has been little research estimating the costs of achieving such targets, either site by site or in aggregate. Here, we spatially model the costs of restoring mangroves globally based on reported implementation costs from 249 restoration projects in 25 countries.

Establishing marine protected areas in a changing climate

This guidance aims to inform the planning, design, and implementation of new and expanded MPAs, OECMs, areas conserved by Indigenous peoples, and networks of protected and conserved areas at the community, national, and international levels. It focuses on why it is important to consider climate change in MPA1 planning, and how new areas can be established in ways that build climate resilience, adaptation, and mitigation.

Navigator - a global database of verified marine protected and managed area regulations and boundaries

Comprehensive, global, and standardized data on ocean regulations are essential to assess protection levels. They are also key to successfully measuring progress towards 30 × 30 goals. ProtectedSeas’ Navigator is a repository of regulatory and spatial data for over 21,700 unique marine managed areas globally, with summaries of restricted fishing and marine activities extracted from official regulations.

Eliminating invasive rats may restore nutrient flow across food chain networks in Seychelles

Ecosystems are characterized by interconnected structure and functions. A study published in the open-access journal PLOS Biology by Casey Benkwitt at Lancaster University, United Kingdom and colleagues suggests that restoring seabird populations via eradication of rats may help coral reefs by restoring nutrient connectivity in disrupted food chains.