Climate change and a wide range of human activities are impacting habitats at an unprecedented and unsustainable rate. These changes demand more than scaling up current efforts. A loss of biodiversity affects us all. Diminished fishing habitats hurt fishing communities. Forests at higher risk of wildfires not only threaten wildlife habitat but also livelihoods. The loss of diverse plants and animals threatens the outdoor recreation industry that supports millions of jobs and generates hundreds of billions in economic output across the United States.
To meet these challenges and so many others facing nature, the United States has committed to the goal of conserving, protecting or restoring 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030.
(Update: The White House has released its “America the Beautiful” initiative for a locally led and voluntary effort to reach the U.S. goal to conserve 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030. See The Nature Conservancy's statement.)
There is no single strategy capable of accomplishing this goal. It will require an expansive approach that leverages science and collaboration with Indigenous peoples, landowners and others to deploy a full suite of conservation tools. To succeed requires better science and large-scale spatial planning to identify, conserve, restore and protect climate-resilient habitats. It must include sustainable resource management backed by robust public policies and funding to address systemic changes in different geographies and communities.
Critical Elements of the U.S. 30x30 Must Include:
- Public protected areas, Indigenous lands and waters and working/private lands and waters.
- A minimum protection of all ecosystem types.
- Management to ensure that these lands and waters remain viable.
- Durable policies and sustainable financing to secure protection commitments.
- Processes must that engage communities, landowners, fishers, Indigenous peoples and others.
Paths and Tools for 30x30 in the United States
Protecting biodiversity has been core to The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC's) mission since its founding. Our science and experience have resulted in meaningful, lasting conservation successes, and 30x30 is a natural extension of that mission. Reaching 30x30 will take conserving, restoring and protecting lands, oceans and waters in a scientifically sound and collaborative manner. It also means avoiding the irreversible conversion of or unsustainable use of these lands and waters.
Working lands and waters have a critical role in meeting this goal. It will take working with all parties to enhance the restoration and management of existing lands, freshwater and ocean habitats. It will take strategies to facilitate federal, state, tribal and local efforts that are collaborative, connected and aligned to a national strategy. It will take investments in nature-based climate solutions and policies to reduce watershed, seascape and landscape degradation.
This effort will require prioritizing biodiversity protection in other sectors and ensuring the domestic 30x30 goals are harmonized with the international Convention on Biological Diversity negotiations. Accomplishing these goals will take significant coordination and funding. Congress should help convene and develop shared solutions for achieving these goals. It must also expand funding for these efforts, including doubling both domestic and international biodiversity funding by 2030.
A Climate-Resilient Path for 30X30
A significant portion of this goal should be met with investments in the lands and waters that are most resilient to climate change and will allow plant and animal species to find new places to thrive away from growing climate threats.
Growing climate impacts are forcing plant and animal species to move an average of 11 miles north and 36 feet higher in elevation each decade to find more hospitable places to live. Unfortunately, more than half of U.S. lands and waters are fragmented by human development, blocking species’ movement.
TNC – working for the past 10 years with more than 150 scientists from the public and private sectors – has mapped a network of connected lands across the United States with unique topographies, geologies and other characteristics that make them resilient to climate change. The resulting Resilient Lands Mapping Tool identifies the most resilient lands across the nation that, if conserved, will allow species to move away from climate impacts and find new habitat.
The network covers 33 percent of the continental United States and is already being used by land trusts and government agencies across the country to develop local conservation plans. Along with protecting biodiversity, these resilient lands also support human communities by providing freshwater, outdoor industry jobs and other benefits. They also fight climate change by storing above average amounts of carbon.
The biodiversity and nature crises demand bold action. With the help of TNC’s trusted science and on-the-ground experience across the country and around the world, the United States can make significant progress in conserving the most important lands and waters over the next decade and enhancing collaborative private lands conservation. The future of nature, and people, depend on this collective action.
CASE STUDY: A Climate Stronghold in North Carolina
More Policy Stories
Feature
Recovering America’s WildlifeThe Recovering America’s Wildlife Act will help safeguard habitats and biodiversity, slow extinction rates and secure a brighter future for people and nature.
Feature
Nature and Clean Energy as StimulusInvestments focused on restoring ecosystems and building a low-carbon economy will create jobs, improve local economies and build more resilient, sustainable communities.
Blog
30x30: Eight Steps to Protect The Best on EarthWe need to protect the best and improve the rest. To make the most of a ‘30 by 30’ goal, here are our eight key takeaways.