Protect 30x30
The Nature Crisis
We are facing extraordinary challenges that demand swift and bold action.
Three-fourths of the planet’s lands and two-thirds of its ocean areas have already been significantly altered by human activities—and on our current trajectory we risk losing so much more.
Failure to act urgently to protect our lands and waters will put over a million plants and animals at risk of extinction, many within decades.
The nature crisis and the climate crisis are two sides of the same coin
We cannot stabilize the climate without increasing protections for nature. One of the most cost-effective strategies for mitigating climate change is to protect more land and water. According to scientists, protecting 30% of the Earth is the bare minimum needed to save nature and buffer humanity against the worst impacts of climate change.
This is why scientists and governments around the world are working to protect 30 percent of Earth’s lands, waters, and ocean by 2030. This goal, also known as the “30x30 Goal”, has garnered the support of more than 100 nations worldwide.
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The United States and 30x30
The United States still has some of the healthiest and most natural lands, waters, and ocean areas in the world.
Approximately 60 percent of lands in the continental United States are in a mostly natural condition or could be restored to one. Today, about 12 percent of U.S. lands and 23 percent of the U.S. ocean are protected. But not all protections provide equal benefits.
We must rapidly scale up the pace of conservation, including highly and fully protected places, if we’re going to safeguard nature and support our economies dependent on functional natural systems. Compared to the status quo, meeting the 30x30 goal would secure an enormous amount of stored carbon and further expand nature’s capacity as a carbon sink – sequestering an additional 215 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually, the climate equivalent of taking 47 million cars off the road each year.
The Biden administration has begun charting a path towards 30x30 by first taking action to unwind former President Trump’s anti-conservation policies.
Meeting President Biden’s conservation goals will take more than just undoing President Trump’s legacy, it’s going to take building broad, diverse, and locally-driven coalitions to safeguard natural areas from the biggest cities to more rural and remote areas.
That is what President Biden launched during his first weeks in office, in establishing the first-ever national conservation goal to meet the scale of the crises facing climate and nature – and ensure all Americans have access to the outdoors—by conserving 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030.
President Biden’s 30x30 Challenge, the America the Beautiful Initiative, is a uniquely American approach to the global biodiversity goal aimed at protecting 30% of the planet.
The Healthy Ocean Coalition network is focused on advocating that the Biden Administration:
Prioritize new highly and fully marine protected areas (MPAs) – places set aside for the long term conservation of nature – and enhance existing MPAs with stronger protections to achieve the goals of America the Beautiful.
These areas protect and restore biodiversity and increase resiliency to climate change. These protected areas should be complemented by efforts to sustainably manage all ocean resources.
Create a national plan with robust metrics to equitably increase access to coastal and ocean areas,
with a focus on serving communities that have historically not had equal access to nature and outdoor spaces.
Support community-based grassroots organizations by ensuring that they have adequate funding and resources to participate in the decision making process concerning issues that directly impact their communities.
This is especially critical in regard to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color communities. Speak to community leaders and experts on the ground and engage them in committees and commissions.
