30×30 Initiative
Since January 2022, a senior QLF staff member has served as a Vice Chair of the World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA), one of six commissions of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The WCPA, comprising more than 2,500 expert volunteer members worldwide, is dedicated to providing scientific, technical, and policy advice as well as advocating for global and national systems of marine, freshwater, and terrestrial protected areas that result in successful outcomes for the conservation of biodiversity.
In December 2022, the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework, an ambitious agenda aimed at halting and reversing biodiversity loss. Of particular relevance to WCPA is Target 3, commonly known as “30×30,” which aims to protect and conserve 30% of the world’s land and sea areas by 2030.
To support the inclusive and effective implementation of CBD Target 3, QLF staff played a leading role in developing accessible “how-to” guides for this global initiative.
The first resource, 30×30: A Guide to Inclusive, Equitable and Effective Implementation of Target 3, was created to support countries in developing and executing their Target 3 plans. The guide’s broad audience includes governmental natural resource planners, policy makers, Indigenous peoples, community-based organizations that own, govern, and manage territories, and NGOs focused on biodiversity conservation, among others. This 69-page illustrated guide provides a comprehensive walkthrough of Target 3’s implementation, offering essential concepts, definitions, and the rationale behind the target. Currently being translated into French and Spanish, the guide is rich with links to additional detailed information.
A second valuable resource is the 30×30 Solutions Toolkit, an online platform offering guidance and information on implementing Target 3. Designed as a companion to the 30×30 Guide, the website serves as a clearinghouse of resources, categorized by resource type (terrestrial, marine, inland waters, etc.) and outcomes (effectively managed, ecologically representative, equitably governed, etc.).
In addition, QLF provided leadership in the planning of a high-level “Target 3 Action Day” at COP16 (Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity) in October 2024 in Cali, Colombia.
Protected Areas and One Health
Scientific evidence is growing that land-use induced spillover is a major contributor to disease, via a pathway of landscape level processes that drive changes in transmission of wildlife pathogens. Protected areas established to protect biodiversity are mechanisms to contain this risk.
QLF staff co-edited a special issue of PARKS, the International Journal of Protected Areas and Conservation, on the impacts and implications of SARS-CoV-2 on protected and conserved areas. Plans call for the creation of a new WPCA task force on Protected Areas and One Health. The group is preparing three tools for PCA managers and PCA system managers to (1) assess infectious disease threats in PCAs; (2) reduce infectious disease threats in PCAs; and (3) assess and improve One Health capacity in PCAs. These will be release in early 2025 after refining through wide consultation with the intended audiences. The group is also supporting development of wildlife health surveillance networks through a new data management system.
Over time, QLF staff has help IUCN produce detailed guidance on many aspects of protected area management and governance. Included are Guidelines for Privately Protected Areas (2018), and a special issue of the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science on PPAs.
In recent months, QLF staff has contributed papers: proposing a new standard lexicon of area-based conservation (Conservation Biology, 2024); and a paper in Frontiers of Conservation Science outlining a research agenda on privately protected areas (2024).
