“Support local people in protecting nature around the world”
A study by Humboldt University in Berlin shows that the UN’s nature conservation target could have a direct impact on the lives of almost half the world’s population
To halt global species extinction, at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and marine areas are to be placed under protection by 2030 and 30 per cent of degraded ecosystems restored, as agreed at the 15th UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal in 2022. An interdisciplinary team of international researchers and practitioners, led by the Conservation Research Institute at the University of Cambridge and with the participation of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (HU), has now investigated for the first time what impact achieving the ‘30x30’ target could have on the lives of large sections of the world’s population. Conclusion: The human factor is deemed crucial to success. This is because, in many cases, it is precisely the people living in areas that are important for biodiversity and are to be placed under protection who will feel the negative effects. Supporting these people – financially and in other ways – is crucial to the success of the ‘30x30’ target, according to the study, which has been published in the journal ‘Nature Communications’.
First approach: protecting as many species and ecosystems as possible
“The main message of our study is: support local people in protecting nature worldwide,” says Prof. Dr Tobias Kümmerle from the Department of Geography at HU and one of the study’s co-authors, summarising the findings. “We examined three conservation approaches that would make it possible to achieve the ‘30x30’ target in order to reverse the decline in biodiversity.” The first approach aims to protect as many different species and ecosystems as possible. In this case, 46 per cent of the world’s population would be living within a nature reserve or within a ten-kilometre radius of one by 2030, the researchers found.
However, the team found that there is no single optimal approach to nature conservation – the impacts on people will vary greatly, but are potentially always significant and far-reaching.
This is because living in or near protected areas can have positive, negative or neutral effects on livelihoods and well-being. Potential benefits include, for example, securing a sustainable supply of clean water, natural resources such as medicinal plants, and access to cultural sites. Furthermore, protected forests can prevent flooding. However, the designation of protected areas can also mean that people are prevented from continuing to live in an area or using resources as they have done in the past.
The ultimate impact of establishing new nature reserves on the local population therefore depends crucially on how these areas are designed and managed. For example, there is a significant difference between a national park with strict rules and an indigenous protected area. Regardless of which approach is chosen, the study states that significant investment is required, along with processes that allow the local population a say in decision-making, to ensure that local people are not disadvantaged.
Two alternative approaches: protecting large habitat areas or management by indigenous peoples and local communities
The second approach focuses on the protection of large habitat areas – particularly in the Amazon and the Congo – that provide natural ‘services’ to people around the world, such as carbon sequestration. The third approach gives priority to areas of high conservation value that are managed and stewarded by indigenous peoples and local communities, over strict protected areas and a sole focus on the protection of threatened species. Although these alternative approaches would affect significantly fewer people than an approach focused on protecting most species, a higher proportion of those affected would be very poor and therefore all the more dependent on the use of natural resources and the right to continue traditional ways of life.
There are ongoing debates about which land and marine areas should be protected and how successful implementation can be ensured worldwide, yet the debate rarely focuses on the impacts on local populations. With only four years remaining and less than 20 per cent of the world’s land and marine areas under protection, the team believes that efforts to achieve the ‘30x30’ target must now be significantly stepped up.
Kunming-Montreal Biodiversity Framework
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework was adopted by the Parties on 19 December 2022 at the 15th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP 15) in Montreal, Canada, after the planned venue in Kunming, China, had to be cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The framework sets out an ambitious path to realise the vision of a world living in harmony with nature by 2050. The 30x30 target is part of this framework. 196 countries, including Germany and the United Kingdom, formally committed to achieving this target during the UN Biodiversity Conference.
Publication:
Fajardo, J. et al: ‘Social implications of the 30x30 global conservation target.’
Nature Communications, May 2026. DOI: 10.1038/s41467-026-71860-8
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Tobias Kümmerle
Geography Department
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
030 2093 45882
tobias.kuemmerle(at)hu-berlin.de
Press release of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, 19 May 2026