5 Things Countries Can Do this Year to Stop Biodiversity Loss

Nature is disappearing at a terrifying rate. In 2023, the world lost 10 football (soccer) fields' worth of tropical forest per minute. Wildlife populations have shrunk by more than 70% over the last 50 years. Today, around 1 million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction, many within decades.

This loss affects every person on the planet.

On the frontlines are 1.6 billion people, many among the world's poorest, who depend on forests for their livelihoods. Billions more rely on the ocean and other natural ecosystems for food, jobs and resources. Around half of the world's GDP comes from industries that depend on nature.

At the same time, nature loss is both accelerating climate change and leaving communities more exposed to dangerous impacts like floods and drought.

In October, leaders from around the world will gather at the 16th UN Biodiversity Conference (COP16) in Cali, Colombia to address these growing threats. The key question at COP16 is how countries will fulfill their pledge to protect at least 30% of the world's land and water and restore 30% of degraded ecosystems by 2030, as they agreed in 2022 under the landmark Global Biodiversity Framework.

Countries are expected to submit new national biodiversity plans at COP16 detailing how they'll meet the Framework's goals. For these plans to succeed, they must chart a course that protects and restores nature while simultaneously strengthening economies and securing enough food, water and resources for all people to thrive.

Signs of Hope Amid an Escalating Crisis

Some countries have made important strides on tackling deforestation and land degradation in recent years, demonstrating the power of strong political will and local action.

Brazil — home to over 60% of the Amazon Rainforest — reduced its forest loss by 36% in 2023 thanks to more robust forest protection measures and law enforcement under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Colombia slashed its primary forest loss by nearly 50% the same year. Over 30 African governments have committed to restoring 100 million hectares of degraded land by 2030, which thousands of local entrepreneurs and smallholder farmers are now working on.

These efforts often yield benefits for nature, people and the climate alike. Through the Great Blue Wall initiative, Seychelles and nine other African countries are working to conserve and restore coastal and marine ecosystems like mangroves, seagrass meadows and coral reefs. The initiative aims to create millions of "blue" jobs linked to the ocean economy and remove and store 100 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, alongside contributing to the world's nature and biodiversity goals.

But despite these encouraging examples, global trendlines are still headed in the wrong direction. WRI research estimates that by 2050, an area of land nearly twice the size of India will be converted to agriculture, while an area the size of the continental United States could be converted to meet increased demand for wood — squeezing out ecosystems that are essential for protecting biodiversity, storing carbon and sustaining livelihoods.

5 Key Areas for Progress at COP16

As countries grapple with competing demands for finite land and resources, COP16 provides an opportunity to deliver clearer plans for tackling these interconnected challenges together. Leaders should aim to drive progress in five key areas:

1) Deliver strong and equitable National Biodiversity Plans

This year marks the first biodiversity conference since countries adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework at COP15 in 2022, committing to "halt and reverse biodiversity loss" by conserving 30% of land and water and restoring 30% of all degraded ecosystems by 2030 (known as the "30x30" goals).

Countries are due to submit National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) by COP16 outlining how they'll contribute to these targets. So far, just 9 countries and the EU have done so.

By COP16, all countries need to step up and deliver clear, ambitious strategies. While each country's plan will be unique to its context, all should identify priority areas for protection and restoration in line with the 30x30 goals. They should also link national biodiversity efforts to city- and state-led ones; increase private sector collaboration; and tackle incentives and subsidies that drive short-term land and resource use. For these plans to work, policies to protect nature need to also help create new jobs and more inclusive local economies.

While every country must do more to protect nature and biodiversity, some will have an outsized impact on the world.

The Congo Basin, Amazon and Southeast Asia regions house 80% of the world's tropical forests and two-thirds of its terrestrial biodiversity. These forests are vital not just to nearby communities, but to people everywhere, from stabilizing the climate and regulating rainfall to supporting global food supplies. Countries in these areas especially need to demonstrate bold ambition, yet many are developing nations that will need support from wealthier countries to do so.

2) Mainstream nature in policies on food and water

The global food system is the single biggest driver of biodiversity loss, with agricultural expansion rapidly devouring natural landscapes around the world.

As the global population grows, countries must work to increase food supplies without converting more forests or natural lands into farms. This will require greatly boosting yields on existing agricultural land, including through sustainable farming methods like crop rotation and agroforestry; reducing food loss and waste throughout the supply chain; and, in high-income countries, shifting from meat-heavy diets toward more plant-based foods.

Food production also consumes most of the water that humans use. With one-quarter of the global population already facing extremely high water stress, countries must work to manage water more sustainably so that thirsty croplands don't exacerbate water shortages and put pressure on ecosystems.

Countries should link policies on nature protection to policies on food systems and water security in both their national biodiversity plans, due by COP16, and their national climate commitments (NDCs), due in early 2025.

For developing countries with growing food demands and agriculture-dependent economies, land protection must be politically and economically viable. Wealthy countries and development banks can commit finance and technical support to help these countries boost agricultural development in return for protecting their tropical forests and ecosystems.

3) Provide more finance and incentives to support nature and biodiversity goals

There is currently a $700 billion gap between annual funding for nature and what's needed by 2030 to protect and restore ecosystems. Moreover, many of the world's most biodiverse ecosystems — and biggest carbon sinks — are in developing countries that cannot save them without far more financial support.

Under the Global Biodiversity Framework, countries committed to eliminate or repurpose $500 billion in subsidies that are harming nature, such as fossil fuel subsidies. They also promised to mobilize a collective $200 billion per year for conservation and restoration from both public and private sources. Of this, developed countries committed $20 billion per year for developing countries by 2025, rising to $30 billion by 2030. Fulfilling these commitments will be essential to driving progress on nature and biodiversity protection.

Bringing in more private sector finance will require incentives, which can come from policy and regulation as well as market-based strategies to make investments in nature more attractive. But this should not substitute for shifting harmful subsidies and delivering international public finance to the countries that need it most.

4) Recognize the land rights and the authority of Indigenous Peoples and other frontline communities

Indigenous Peoples and local communities are essential environmental stewards: They manage about half the world's land, including 36% of its intact forests — areas critical to global biodiversity. Research by WRI and others shows that lands managed by Indigenous Peoples have lower deforestation rates and are some of the most important carbon storehouses on the planet. Yet few traditional lands are legally recognized as belonging to these communities.

The Global Biodiversity Framework includes numerous calls to recognize Indigenous Peoples and local communities' rights. At COP16, the question will be how governments turn this language into policy. This can include securing land tenure for Indigenous Peoples and local communities; including their voices and traditional knowledge systems in policy decisions; and delivering more finance to empower communities as critical natural resource stewards, as promised at the 2021 UN climate conference (COP26).

It is also critical that countries take steps to address systemic violence and intimidation against frontline communities working to protect ecosystems. In 2023, 166 people were killed defending lands and the environment in Latin America alone — nearly half of them were Indigenous people.

5) Effectively measure and track progress toward global targets

Monitoring is fundamental to making progress on nature and biodiversity goals. Transparent, independent tracking allows civil society to hold governments and businesses accountable. It can also help government agencies, local communities and businesses understand what's working and what's not, allowing them to continually adapt and improve their land management approaches.

The Global Biodiversity Framework included a detailed monitoring framework for tracking progress toward its goals. At COP16, countries must decide how to operationalize the monitoring framework, including what indicators will be tracked and where the data will come from.

The negotiations will be complex, but adopting a few core principles for effective monitoring could help provide a path forward. Specifically, monitoring should be transparent, cost-effective at scale, flexible and open source. Independent monitoring, like what Global Forest Watch does for deforestation, can play a critical role alongside official government monitoring systems to ensure accountability.

The Path Ahead

The biodiversity crisis didn't happen in a silo; its causes are inherently linked to the world's climate and development challenges. Its solutions are, too.

Policies to protect nature will only be successful if all people can access the food, water and other vital resources they need. Likewise, the world cannot halt climate change and protect people from its impacts without stopping deforestation and reviving critical ecosystems.

COP16 is just one stop on this journey. Over the next year, countries will have numerous opportunities to bring these issues together, including at the 2024 UN climate conference (COP29) in November and when they submit new national climate commitments in early 2025. At every juncture, leaders must seek a path that benefits people, nature and the climate — together.

Cover photo: Edward Parker/Alamy Stock Photo