In December 2022, the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity agreed to the Global Biodiversity Framework. This agreement includes a commitment to conserve 30 percent of lands and waters by 2030 through “ecologically representative, well-connected and equitably governed systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures.” The World Database on Protected Areas estimates that as of May 2024, marine protected areas cover 8.01 percent of the ocean.
The "30×30" initiative has been one of the most successful conservation initiatives in history, not just in the United States but around the world. In total, 118 countries have joined a High Ambition Coalition to deliver on these ambitious targets. Governments and philanthropic partners are pouring resources into supporting this goal, with the recent Our Ocean Conference in Athens, Greece raising $11.3 billion in pledges toward ocean conservation. However, while "30×30" is an inspiring metric for understanding, communicating, and measuring conservation success, it only tells part of the story.
A new study led by Beth Pike at the Marine Conservation Institute measured the effectiveness of these marine protected areas (MPAs) by looking at the world’s 100 largest MPAs—which collectively account for 90 percent of global marine protected area acreage—and assessing them against criteria from the MPA Guide. This approach leaves out many thousands of small marine protected areas but provides a big-picture analysis of how the "30×30" movement is progressing globally.
The MPA Guide is a peer-reviewed study published in Science in 2021 to establish a shared language around marine protected areas. It provides a tool for assessing likely biodiversity benefits based on their characteristics. MPAs are more than just lines on a map; their outcomes depend on how their restrictions are designed, how long and well they have been implemented, and the communities and cultures living near where they are placed.
The MPA Guide assesses MPAs across four criteria: stage of establishment, level of protection, enabling conditions, and outcomes. The new analysis used the World Database on Protected Areas to identify the 100 largest MPAs on the planet and then assessed these MPAs against the MPA Guide criteria. The study revealed that while these MPAs cover nearly 90 percent of reported global MPA coverage, they vary significantly in quality.
The analysis yielded several findings. One-quarter of the assessed MPA coverage remains unimplemented. These protected areas were designated but have not led to any change on the water—despite their potential. If governments develop and implement management plans, ocean health will improve.
One-third of the assessed MPAs allow high-impact activities, undermining their conservation value. Even if these areas receive funding and are well staffed, they are unlikely to result in healthier oceans because they continue to legally allow harmful activities such as bottom trawling.
Two-thirds of the fully and highly protected MPAs are in isolated overseas territories, such as those designated by the United States, United Kingdom, and France. This study provides a sobering analysis of who carries the conservation burden to meet global biodiversity protection goals and illustrates the need for fair representation and inclusion in marine conservation decisions.
About one-third of the assessed areas are working well. These areas are well designed and implemented and are likely to yield meaningful conservation benefits. But there needs to be a shift toward developing a network of global protected areas that are well designed, well implemented, and just.
Recent years have seen growth in ocean protections—from less than 1 percent to more than 8 percent of the ocean. Yet many protections are either poorly designed or poorly enforced, often located in overseas territories of powerful countries raising questions about justice and habitat representation. Leaders need to move beyond "30×30" targets and focus on creating equitable networks of protected areas that contain different habitat types along a spectrum of protection levels and are adequately staffed and funded.
