The global effort to protect 30% of the planet’s land and oceans by 2030 is falling behind schedule with governments facing major challenges ahead of the COP17 biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia, in October 2026. The summit will assess progress towards Target 3 of the Kunming Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework widely known as “30 by 30”.
According to the Protected Planet database, 18.7% of the world land and inland waters and around 10% of its oceans are currently under some form of conservation management. Although more than one million square kilometres of land has been added to protected area records since 2022 conservation experts say the pace of expansion must accelerate significantly to meet the 2030 deadline.
One major challenge is establishing protected areas without undermining the land rights and livelihoods of local communities. In Liberia, the proposed 172,000 hectare Kwa National Park has sparked a dispute between conservation organisations, government authorities and nearby residents. The proposed park could safeguard endangered chimpanzees forest elephants and pygmy hippos, but some communities oppose restrictions on land they use for farming.
Commercial cocoa cultivation is contributing to forest loss in the region. Some residents have established cocoa farms within the proposed park’s boundaries and are seeking changes to those boundaries. While conservation supporters argue that protecting the forest is essential for future generations, land-rights organisations say the project should be delayed until surrounding communities have opportunities to secure legal recognition of their customary land ownership.
The Wild Chimpanzee Foundation says nearly 80 communities have already signed consent forms during negotiations. However, the Forest Peoples Programme and its Liberian partner, SESDev, argue that conservation efforts must respect community land rights and involve residents in decision-making.
The global figures reveal similarly significant gaps. According to the Campaign for Nature, 132 of the 196 parties to the biodiversity framework have made formal commitments to protect a defined amount of land. Together, these commitments would cover around 27% of the planet’s terrestrial surface, but translating pledges into effective conservation measures remains a major obstacle.
Funding is another concern. The article estimates that only $24 billion is spent annually on protected and conserved areas, compared with an estimated requirement of $100 billion to $180 billion. It also notes that only 14% of threatened species have adequate habitat security, while 65 countries lack concrete targets for land protection.
Ocean conservation is particularly far behind. Although nearly half of warm-water coral reefs are protected only about 10% of the ocean overall receives protection. Deep-sea and offshore ecosystems are even less covered, with just 3% protected. Existing conservation areas also face threats from oil, gas and mining activities. An Earth Insight report cited in the article found that 8% of protected terrestrial land across the Amazon, Central America, the Congo Basin and Southeast Asia overlaps with oil and gas blocks, while 7% overlaps with mining concessions.
To accelerate progress, some conservation advocates are calling for greater recognition of Indigenous and traditional territories. They argue that Indigenous communities often safeguard biodiversity across extensive landscapes but are not automatically included in global conservation totals unless their lands qualify as protected areas or other effective area-based conservation measures.
A proposal under consideration at COP17 could allow Indigenous and traditional territories to contribute towards the 30% target provided communities choose to participate and demonstrate effective conservation. Supporters say this approach could strengthen land rights and direct funding to communities protecting ecosystems.
A study published in Nature Communications in May 2026 examined different approaches to achieving the target. It estimated that prioritising areas with high biodiversity could result in about 2.2 billion people living within conserved areas, with more than half of the expansion involving farmland. Under a scenario prioritising Indigenous and traditional territories, around 500 million people would live in conserved areas and farmland would account for less than 10% of the additional protected land. The study suggested that recognising such territories could potentially raise global conservation coverage to around 36%.
However, experts caution that recognising Indigenous land rights should not automatically mean imposing conservation obligations on communities. Secure land tenure, financial support and local decision making are considered essential to making the approach effective.
An example in Liberia illustrates how such support could work. Under a project funded by the Irish government, two land owning clans have agreed to receive $1.50 per hectare of forest conserved each year. The project covers 50,000 hectares, which are not currently included in the global protected land total.
As delegates gather in Yerevan, the challenge will be to turn international commitments into practical action while ensuring conservation efforts are fair and effective. Meeting the 2030 target will require faster expansion of protected areas, stronger funding and greater cooperation with Indigenous peoples and local communities.