Making global targets local for freshwater protection

Abstract

Freshwaters require targeted policy considerations to achieve biodiversity conservation goals and to support ecosystem services that communities around the globe depend upon. Effective conservation requires creative solutions that build and expand upon conventional protected areas, contextualized for these diverse ecosystems.

Global recognition of the need for protection targeting inland waters has lagged behind protections for marine and terrestrial ecosystems, likely contributing to the greatest biodiversity losses occurring among freshwater species¹. In December 2022, at the Convention on Biological Diversity’s 15th Conference of the Parties, inland waters were specifically included for area-based protection in Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), calling for “at least 30 per cent of terrestrial, inland water, and of coastal and marine areas” to be protected by 2030 (commonly referred to as ‘30x30’)². The inclusion of inland waters (defined as fresh, inland brackish and saline systems) in Target 3, and the discussions that led to this outcome, have put more emphasis on the need to protect inland waters in their own right. This heightened attention opens the door to new national-level action, such as explicit and intentional incorporation of inland waters in National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plans, the main implementation mechanism of the GBF. Nevertheless, how global inland waters protection initiatives are tracked or implemented locally remains unclear.

Citation

Flitcroft, Rebecca L.; Abell, Robin; Harrison, Ian; Arismendi, Ivan; Penaluna, Brooke E. 2023. Making global targets local for freshwater protection. Nature Sustainability. 6(12): 1499-1502. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-023-01193-7.