Climate Refugia
Unprotected land areas that provide additional carbon absorption and storage (storing > 50 tC per hectare), helping to stabilize our global climate system. Climate Stabilization Areas total 4.7% of the planet's lands and make up Layer 6 of the Global Safety Net.
Recognising and reporting other effective area-based conservation measures
In November 2018, Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity adopted at the 14th Conference of the Parties a definition of an "other effective area-based conservation measure" (OECM) as well as guiding principles, common characteristics and criteria for identification of OECMs (CBD/COP/DEC/14/8). OECMs may be managed for many different objectives but they must deliver effective conservation. They may be managed with conservation as a primary or secondary objective or long-term conservation may simply be the ancillary result of management activities. OECMs can contribute to ecologically representative and well-connected conservation systems, integrated within wider landscapes and seascapes, and in doing so, generate a range of positive conservation outcomes. The WCPA Task Force on OECMs has produced these guidelines to assist Parties in interpreting and operationalising Decision 14/8 and to start to develop a body of good practice around recognising and reporting OECMs. It is designed for application at various scales, ranging from understanding whether an individual area is an OECM to reporting OECM statistics at the national and global level as a means to assess progress on achieving conservation targets.
Amazonia Against the Clock
'Amazonia Against the Clock,' a groundbreaking report organized by COICA and published by Indigenous leaders and researchers, presents new data on deforestation and reaffirms the critical role of Indigenous peoples in protecting 80% of the Amazon by 2025.
A “Global Safety Net” to reverse biodiversity loss and stabilize Earth’s climate
Global strategies to halt the dual crises of biodiversity loss and climate change are often formulated separately, even though they are interdependent and risk failure if pursued in isolation. The Global Safety Net maps how expanded nature conservation addresses both overarching threats. We identify 50% of the terrestrial realm that, if conserved, would reverse further biodiversity loss, prevent CO2 emissions from land conversion, and enhance natural carbon removal. This framework shows that, beyond the 15.1% of land area currently protected, 35.3% of the land area is needed to conserve additional sites of particular importance for biodiversity and stabilize the climate. Fifty ecoregions and 20 countries contribute disproportionately to proposed targets. Indigenous lands overlap extensively with the Global Safety Net.