Scaling up area-based conservation to implement the Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30x30 target: The role of Nature’s Strongholds

Summary

This article’s focus is the importance of area-based conservation for biodiversity conservation as outlined by the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). Through principal component analysis, the article recommends that to achieve the GBF’s target of conserving a global area of 30% by 2030, the characteristics of protected and conserved areas (PCAs) must be scaled up through the conservation of areas that are: extensive (typically larger than 5,000 km²); have interconnected PCAs (either physically or as part of a jurisdictional network, and frequently embedded in larger conservation landscapes); have high ecological integrity; and are effectively managed and equitably governed. The article presents  such areas as “Nature’s Strongholds,” illustrated by examples from the Congo and Amazon basins. The article suggests that conserving Nature’s Strongholds offers an approach to scale up initiatives to address global threats to biodiversity.