Area-based conservation and the Sustainable Development Goals: a review

ABSTRACT Area-based conservation is more than just a contribution to protecting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Establishment and effective management of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation mechanisms (OECMs) could accelerate progress for a number of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), for which progress is currently too slow to meet targets by the 2030 deadline. We report the first global analysis of the wider role of protected areas and OECMs in SDG implementation. Our analysis focusses on 11 of the 17 SDGs, assessed in three main groups: (i) cornerstones of conservation, underpinning all prosperity (SDGs 14 and 15); (ii) fundamentals for well-being (SDGs 2, 6 and 13); and (iii) sustainable, healthy and peaceful societies (SDGs 1, 3, 5, 10, 11 and 16). Better representation of area-based conservation in the SDGs will require us to take four steps: (i) recognition of wider SDG targets addressed by protected and conserved areas; (ii) integration of ecosystem services into site-level policies and national SDG strategies; (iii) enhancement of the relevant values through management approaches; and (iv) consistent reporting of these as a contribution to the SDGs.