Protected Planet Report 2024
Current Affair 1:
UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and IUCN released Protected Planet Report 2024.
The Protected Planet Report 2024 is the first report to fully assess the global status of protected and conserved areas in the context of Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
The aim of Target 3 is to expand the global network of protected and conserved areas to 30% coverage in a way that is equitable and that respects the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.
In this report, there was good definition of ‘Protected areas?
Countries often also have national definitions, policies or legislation that determine what is considered protected. Most formally protected areas are designated legally at the national level.
In addition, areas with characteristics of regional or international importance can also be recognized as protected under multilateral environmental agreements and other intergovernmental processes. These include UNESCO World Heritage sites (areas of cultural and natural heritage considered to be of outstanding value to humanity), Ramsar Wetlands of International Importance and UNESCO Man and the Biosphere Reserves.
As a result, what counts as a protected area can be extremely diverse. This diversity is reflected in the names used to describe types of protected area at the national level, which number in the hundreds.
What is other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs)?
While protected areas are the main area-based conservation tool formally recognized by governments, other areas can provide important contributions to conservation when effectively managed. In recognition of this, Parties to the CBD introduced a new term in the text of Aichi Biodiversity Target 11 in 2010 – “other effective area-based conservation measures”, or OECMs.
What is the difference between ‘Protected areas’ and ‘OECMs’?
Unlike protected areas, where biodiversity conservation must be a primary objective, OECMs might not have biodiversity as their primary objective. Still, they must have identified ecological values (biodiversity and/or ecosystem functions and services) and deliver long-term, sustained conservation of those values, regardless of their primary focus.
Only a handful of countries have recognized OECMs to date, but they are already making substantial contributions to Target 3.
As OECMs are still a relatively new concept, Parties' recognition of these areas is an evolving process. Several countries are working to develop or adapt processes and criteria for the identification of OECMs. In some cases, these include legal and policy frameworks for recognizing such sites. However, many countries have not yet started this process.
