Loading ...Nearly every country on Earth just agreed to protect 30 percent of the planet
They agreed to protect 30 percent of Earth’s land and water. Can they do that without repeating past abuses against people?
More than 190 countries agreed to protect 30 percent of Earth’s land and water by the end of the decade at the UN Biodiversity Conference. The historic deal was struck before sunrise today following nearly two weeks of negotiations in Montreal.
Each country adopted the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which commits them to achieving over 20 environmental targets by 2030. Altogether, the framework is supposed to stop human beings from driving species to extinction, preserve the planet’s genetic diversity, and ensure that the benefits of that biodiversity are used sustainably and equitably.
Still, some human rights advocates are skeptical, calling the 30×30 target a “big green lie” on social media. “It’s a huge land grab that’ll force millions of #Indigenous peoples off their ancestral lands,” nongovernmental organization Survival International posted on Facebook over the weekend.