Ambitions in national plans do not yet match bold international protection and restoration commitments

Abstract

Almost 200 nations have made bold commitments to halt biodiversity loss as signatories to the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The effective achievement of the GBF relies on domestic targets and actions, reflected in National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs). NBSAPS are an integral feature of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) framework and signatory nations were requested to submit revised NBSAPs before the 16th Conference of the Parties (COP-16) incorporating the GBF goals and targets. Here we review NBSAPs of the 36 nations that submitted before COP-16 and assess their commitments to implementing target 2 (the 30% restoration target) and target 3 (the 30 × 30 protection target). By first breaking these targets into their constituent elements and assessing the detailed wording of each NBSAP we discover that no nation has created a plan that meets all the requirements—and overall ambitions—of these two targets. With 5 years remaining until the intended realization of the GBF, countries will need to increase both their ambition and action if the biodiversity crisis of the Earth is to be abated.