Yerevan, Armenia, Oct. 25, 2026 – Governments are meeting today on 30x30 Action Day at an inflection point. The first week of the UN Biodiversity Conference in Armenia is an opportunity to review the sobering findings of the Convention on Biodiversity’s State of Biodiversity Action report: Slower progress on marine protections globally. Weak reporting on Indigenous leadership in area-based conservation.

The following statement was released today by Alfred DeGemmis, director of international
policy at the Wildlife Conservation Society:

“This ‘Action Day’ offers us the opportunity to tackle these challenges head-on. WCS experts on marine and human rights-based conservation will work closely with the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People and other conservation partners to deliver tools directly to governments facing the challenge of implementation on the ground and in the water.

“We arrive with a few key messages:

“First, we need to continue investing in people on the front lines of coastal conservation. Our coastlines, including coral reef, mangrove, and seagrass ecosystems, harbor incredible biodiversity amid intensive human management and presence. However, warming seas and pollution from expanding coastal development threaten to overwhelm this fragile balance. International support can help pair the latest science on climate resilience with locally-led conservation planning that leads to protection for the places that need it most.

“Second, we need to engage creatively and constructively with productive sectors. That doesn’t mean recognizing all areas under sustainable production as protected areas. However, it may mean continuous dialogue to demonstrate the benefit of expanding conservation set-asides to create replenishment zones for fisheries, protect rare species within forestry concessions, or to enhance freshwater flows that lie at the core of ecosystem integrity.

“Third, we need to recognize that conservation is a long process. We can and must continue to evolve area-based approaches so that they go beyond best practices, build in rights protections, and enhance the connection between people, their culture, and their territories and resources. We must acknowledge that climate change and the energy transition will change aspects of conservation planning, and we will need to address this existential challenge together.

“Finally, WCS and other champions of the 30x30 target know that protected and conserved measures can’t survive as drifting glaciers in an open ocean - they have to be integrated into larger spatial plans and management policies for lands and seas. WCS research on a complementary global target on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, as well as guidance co-developed with IUCN experts, will ensure protected areas contribute to planet-wide efforts to restore overall ecosystem integrity.

“Progress is slow, but foundations have been laid over the last four years. Successful conservation of at least 30% of our lands and seas is within shooting distance if we redouble our efforts. At WCS, you can be sure we will.”