As world leaders gather in Armenia for COP17, a new article in Science examines what it will take to halt and reverse global biodiversity loss by 2030.
Despite growing international commitment, the world remains off track to meet its biodiversity targets. The article argues that success depends on going beyond protected areas to address the underlying economic, political and social drivers of nature’s decline; from harmful subsidies and unsustainable consumption to inadequate international finance.
Direct drivers include changes in land and sea use, the direct exploitation of plants and animals, pollution, climate change, and invasive alien species. Yet, underlying these are deeper factors linked to production and consumption patterns, trade, finance, governance, incentives, and social values. According to Cooper and Díaz, it is precisely regarding these indirect drivers that progress has been particularly inadequate.
The editorial further warns that conserving 30% of land, inland waters, and oceans by 2030 -while an important goal- will not be enough on its own. Consideration for nature must be integrated into economic and policy decisions, ranging from budgets and development plans to infrastructure, financial regulation, and trade policies.
The authors also highlight economic incentives that are harmful to nature, noting that the Global Biodiversity Framework calls for these to be reduced by at least US$500 billion annually by 2030.
The final message is clear: with only four years remaining until 2030, COP17 represents a pivotal opportunity to demonstrate that international cooperation can go beyond expanding protected areas and help transform the economic decisions driving nature loss.
David Cooper is affiliated with the Leverhulme Centre for Nature Recovery at the University of Oxford (UK) and served as the Acting Executive Secretary of the Convention on Biological Diversity. Sandra Díaz is a Senior Researcher at CONICET, based at the Multidisciplinary Institute of Plant Biology (IMBIV, CONICET-UNC), and a professor at the National University of Córdoba. She also served as co-chair of the IPBES Global Assessment on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services.
