Report: From Commitment to Action – Achieving the 30×30 target through the Global Ocean Treaty

In 2022, the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. Target 3 of the GBF is to ‘Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent … of coastal and marine areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed through ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas’. This is known as the 30×30 target. At the current rate of protection, the 30% goal will not be reached until 2107.

The ocean and seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ) – making up 64% of the global ocean – represent Earth’s largest commons and are home to thousands of unique species and a wide range of ecosystems, from dynamic pelagic systems to highly fragile habitats thousands of metres below the surface. Due to the lack of comprehensive governance, less than 1% of ABNJ are fully or highly protected, with the remainder vulnerable to overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and climate change.

The Global Ocean Treaty has emerged as a potential framework to address these challenges by, among other means, facilitating the establishment of area-based management tools (ABMTs), including marine protected areas (MPAs), in ABNJ. One of the Treaty’s objectives is to create an ecologically representative network of MPAs in ABNJ. It therefore represents a critical new legal vehicle to help achieve the 30×30 target. Without a high seas MPA network, 83% of marine areas under national jurisdiction would need to be protected to achieve the 30×30 goal – but this outcome would be neither socially balanced nor ecologically representative.

Rapid establishment of MPAs in waters beyond national jurisdiction is imperative. However, the Global Ocean Treaty can only provide this pathway once it enters into force, after at least 60 countries have ratified it. As of 30 September 2024, just 13 nations have ratified the treaty. Governments must accelerate the pace of ratification to bring the Global Ocean Treaty to life in 2025 in order to keep the 30×30 target within reach.

In parallel, governments must begin the process of identifying high seas sites to be protected, selecting not just the most politically feasible, but the most ecologically valuable. The rate at which MPA coverage is increased will need to ramp up significantly as well: to reach the target of protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030, the equivalent of 23.5 MPAs, each the size of France, will have to be established every year between now and the end of 2030. These MPAs must form an interconnected network that protects ecosystems and species under direct threat from human activities and is resilient to climate change impacts.

Getting on track will require hard work and determination, but the global community has a powerful new tool to finish the job. Through the Global Ocean Treaty, the global community can deliver the 30×30 target and ensure the long-term health and sustainability of the ocean beyond borders.