A grim salience hung over this London Climate Action Week, Europe’s largest city-wide climate event. More than 45,000 attendees gathered in London to discuss a problem unfolding right before us – not within our lifetimes, not in 10 years, not next year.

Extreme heat, driven by climate change, is here. Delayed trains sat roasting on their tracks, passengers fanning themselves with magazines. Commuters sweated in the shady side of the streets. Events were cancelled as buildings overheated or were thinly attended.

Our team was among those sweltering at London Climate Action Week, seeking to drive awareness that nature is our key ally in accelerating climate action. But, along with other attendees, our ability to attend and network as planned was impeded by train cancellations, school closures and exhaustion. Nevertheless, we shared our insights into topics from mobilizing private investment for nature to quantifying the return on investment from climate-resilient initiatives.

Ultimately, the heat made the case for action more compellingly than any keynote speech. The unusual temperatures across Europe drive home the fact that the world is not acting quickly enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and extreme weather. Speaking with other attendees, from policymakers to major financial institutions, we were repeatedly struck by their recognition of this, and engagement in acting to curb the worsening impacts of climate change.

Nature is our best ally

We urgently need to mitigate climate change by cutting the planet-warming gases we’re pumping into the atmosphere.

But we also need to adapt to our new, warmer world. Investing in nature offers us an opportunity to achieve both, simultaneously. Nature-based solutions, such as parks, green corridors, green roofs and walls, can reduce temperatures by as much as 2 degrees Celsius. They can also reduce the impact of other extreme weather, such as flooding, and clean the air we breathe – providing these services to people while also creating habitat and food for wildlife.

Increasingly, the global climate community is focusing on integrating nature and climate goals. When governments met for the previous global climate talks at COP30 last year, they clearly signalled that nature is at the core of climate action.

Experts from our Nature-based Solutions team noticed this shift at London Climate Action Week this year, with events positioning nature-based solutions as an “essential climate solution”, highlighting the nature finance gap and framing nature as an economic opportunity. We must use the urgency we felt during the week to build momentum for action at crucial climate and nature meetings taking place in just a few months.

Closing the nature finance gap

There is broad awareness that not enough money is being dedicated to mitigating and adapting to climate change. Less well known is the fact that there is a global shortfall of around $700 billion every year in the funding needed to conserve and restore nature. Our Nature Economy team in London worked to raise awareness of this biodiversity finance gap, and the tools and metrics available to mobilize resources.

To this end, we co-hosted an event on funding sustainable land use. More than 70 investors, government representatives and NGO experts working on the leading edge of this gathered to share their experiences. We came away enthused and excited by the rapid evolution in this sector: Six years ago discussions were about possibilities and plans. Now they are about capital being mobilised, practical disbursement issues and scaling. Many attendees remarked on this palpable change in a short period. Now this work needs to be scaled up, and drastically.

The task ahead

Addressing the finance gap is one of the key priorities for the coming months.

London Climate Action Week took place at a critical juncture, ahead of three crucial UN meetings this year on how to tackle desertification, nature loss and climate change. From one heatwave-struck host country to another, the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17) takes place in four months’ time in Armenia, which endured temperatures of 37 degrees Celsius recently. Delegates must be spurred on by the urgency we feel now, to accelerate solutions to halt and reverse nature loss while also averting the impacts of climate change.

All around the world, heatwaves like the one that gripped Europe this June are becoming more frequent and severe. Climate change and nature loss together constitute a public health emergency, and that understanding is now spreading across governments, financial institutions and civil society. For the team at UNEP-WCMC, the heat of London Climate Action Week is a reminder of why the work ahead of each of the meetings this year for the three UN Conventions on Biodiversity, Climate and Desertification matters so much. Turning commitments into action cannot wait.

Main image: View over London from Greenwich Park during a heatwave (Alisdare Hickson / CC BY-SA 2.0)

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The UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) released its 2025 Impact Report today. The report highlights crucial developments for nature. 

In 2025, we proved that with quiet persistence environmental progress can be achieved, even amid changing political winds. Countries, companies and communities increasingly understand and act on the shared reliance that we all have on nature. 

We fine-tuned leading tools and catalyzed their widespread adoption. We shared knowledge and provided guidance to governments, companies and communities. We authored pioneering research and input into negotiations at international meetings. To support on-the-ground progress, we ran training and workshops all over the world.

Our latest Impact Report contains multiple examples of how determination, collaboration and scientific rigour continue to move the needle for nature action. 

We put nature at the centre of economic decisions 

With over half the world’s GDP moderately to highly dependent on nature, nature loss is a matter of growing interest from investors, governments, companies and communities. Last year was pivotal in turning this interest into action across the whole of society. 

Following a major update in 2025, our tool for Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure (ENCORE) was used with increasing frequency. This free digital tool, developed in collaboration with Global Canopy and the UNEP Finance Initiative, enables users to see how their economic activities depend on and put pressure on nature and natural resources. Registered users grew by almost 50 per cent last year, with Scottish Widows and BNP Paribas among the financial institutions using it as the foundational map of their reliance on nature. 

We also worked at the national level to drive action on the economic risks posed by nature loss. Our economists worked with policymakers in five countries to explore how essential data and modelling tools can embed nature into decision-making. The Nature Transitions Support Programme (NTSP) led to real-world nature action in 2025, with Ecuador creating new policies and plans for nature.

We collaborated with forward-thinking multinational companies to support them as they continue to internalize and manage biodiversity risk. Thanks to the Proteus Partnership, major companies across sectors are sharing and building on their experiences of how nature action is not a compromise but a competitive advantage in a fast-changing world. 

And we supported communities as they worked to generate returns from protecting and restoring nature. In Nepal, more than 22,000 community forest groups manage 2.4 million hectares of land, which has helped forest cover rebound to an impressive 46 per cent of the country’s area. In 2025, with our support through the UN REDD programme, the government established an Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement (ERPA) in collaboration with the Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest finance coalition (LEAF).

From Nepal’s forests to Botswana’s boardrooms: people and nature in harmony 

Our societies and economies are built on the foundations of nature’s contributions to people. UNEP-WCMC’s work in 2025 contributed to the world making its way towards living in harmony with nature. 

We heightened understanding of the importance of nature for livelihoods and culture. We played a pivotal role in the growing sophistication of international wildlife trade governance. Our insight led to increased protection for species in international trade, and a ground-breaking paper on the distribution of the planet’s most-used plants went on to have a second life influencing conversations in boardrooms and Indigenous territories.  

The importance of nature to societies was particularly prominent in our work through the National Ecosystem Assessment (NEA) Initiative. The NEA Initiative supports science-policy processes in countries to determine the condition of ecosystems and how land use, climate change and biodiversity trends affect societies and economies, for example through agricultural productivity and disaster resilience. Last year, Malawi’s assessment findings were actively integrated into national policies. In Botswana, findings were embraced at the highest levels of government. 

Protected and conserved areas contribute important ecosystem services to societies – from fresh water, clean air and sustainably gathered materials to livelihood opportunities, tourism and spiritual well-being. In 2025, we were involved in important work to develop systems for recognizing conservation taking place outside of formal protected areas. In Colombia we supported a robust national process for identifying candidate conserved areas that resulted in the recognition of 22 new areas in 2025. Through our support to a similar system in Peru six new areas were reported, three at the request of Indigenous communities.

The challenges ahead are formidable. But our achievements in 2025 demonstrate what becomes possible when trusted knowledge is put to work, when science shapes decisions and when partnerships are at the heart of our approach. A future where nature and people can thrive together is not just imaginable, but achievable – and we continue our work with this vision and inspiration at its heart. 

Download the full Impact Report 2025 here 

Main image: Many people build their homes on the floating islands of vegetation and soil found on Loktak Lake, India, depending on fish in the lake’s waters and living in harmony with nature (© sayan Nath | Unsplash)

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Climate change and nature loss are tightly interconnected issues. Rising temperatures and changing weather patterns can cause the loss of sensitive species, and in some cases whole ecosystems. Even less drastic climate change impacts can disrupt the relationships among species and critical ecosystem processes, therefore damaging ecosystems and reducing the benefits nature provides to people.  

Such damage has profound implications for society, affecting everything from spiritual well-being through to infrastructure. Among the most critical of these benefits are the roles nature can play in mitigating and adapting to climate change, as well as limiting its adverse impacts on people. On the one hand, healthy ecosystems sequester and store carbon, that could otherwise add to greenhouse gas build-up in the atmosphere. On the other hand, ecosystems can reduce the impacts on people from climate change hazards. For example, coastal wetlands can limit damage from flooding and increase the resilience of communities. 

Some climate solutions, such as engineered infrastructure, can jeopardize biodiversity if nature is not factored in from the outset. However, nature-based, or integrated, solutions can halt and even reverse biodiversity loss, while also strengthening community-level climate resilience. 

Encouragingly, nature is higher than ever on the agenda of this year’s London Climate Action Week (LCAW), happening from 20-28 June. Stakeholders across different sectors of society, from public to private, will come together to learn more about climate issues, and build lasting partnerships. UNEP-WCMC will be at LCAW to help shape global dialogues on how climate action, finance and private sector transitions can be grounded in nature. Through strategic dialogues and partner-led events, we are contributing science, tools and expertise to support nature-inclusive climate action, resilient economies and to scale up solutions across policy, business and finance. 

Business as usual is not sustainable for nature or climate 

As highlighted by the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment, business activities have driven, and continue to drive, nature loss. Scientists have been able to measure nature’s contributions to people, ranging from the provision of crops to well-being benefits. Under business-as-usual, 14 out of 18 of these categories have declined. This loss of nature not only harms ecosystems but also poses risks to business operations and value chain resilience. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework sets clear goals for the conservation and restoration of nature, but meeting these relies on whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches to action. Governments can develop policies and regulations to enable businesses to measure, report and account for impacts on nature. Delivering nature-inclusive climate action requires collaboration across many stakeholders, from governments to businesses and financial institutions. 

We provide measurement tools for better decision making

Measuring climate impacts is now standard practice across much of the private sector. This is also increasingly the case for nature, and many tools already exist for measuring impacts and dependencies on nature. This variety is key, as different measures are needed to inform different business decisions. UNEP-WCMC has played a key role in developing science-based tools that are widely used by businesses and financial institutions, and will further highlight the ways they are already driving private sector understanding and action at LCAW.  

The Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) provides companies with access to the world’s most authoritative biodiversity datasets, including the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA). This data enables companies to assess and manage risk, disclose with confidence and supports strategy and financing.  Another tool is Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure (ENCORE), which helps companies to both understand how they depend on nature and the ways in which their activities might impact ecosystems. 

We encourage finance to flow towards activities that support nature 

There is a major climate finance gap, and the same exists for nature – standing at a staggering shortfall of around $700 billion per year. At present, finance still largely flows towards negative business activities, with $7.3 trillion of finance flowing to activities that degrade nature in 2023 alone. One area in which we work to change this is land-use finance. As land-use is one of the key drivers of biodiversity loss, we support companies to make investments that have positive outcomes for nature. Our Land Use Finance Impact Hub, in collaboration with UNEP Climate Finance Unit, helps investors to develop clear impact frameworks for sustainable investment. We will also be attending LCAW to share insights across events and co-host two sessions on mobilizing more private finance for nature, looking both globally at forests and sustainable land use, as well as at financing NbS in Europe. 

Nature-based solutions are a key investment opportunity 

Investment into nature-based solutions (NbS) can help to address both climate and nature issues. NbS work to conserve and restore ecosystems to help solve societal challenges, from climate change to people’s economic well-being. When NbS are designed holistically, addressing both environmental and social problems, they are also cost-effective. UNEP-WCMC will champion the role of NbS at this year’s LCAW, sharing insights from our work across a range of different ecosystem types, from natural landscapes to cities. 

The UNEP-WCMC team will be co-hosting and speaking at a number of events. These include, ‘Changing Mindsets: Mobilizing More Private Investment for Nature in Europe’ with Network Nature EU and Horizon Nua, the ‘Managing Nature Risks and Opportunities: Tools to Guide Business and Finance Action’ workshop with IBAT and WWF, as well as ‘Nature-related Indigenous Peoples Engagement and Financial Materiality’ with the Shift Project and Taskforce for Nature-Related Financial Disclosures (TNFD). Thriving nature and healthy ecosystems are at the heart of effective climate action, and our delegation looks forward to advocating for climate and nature synergies. 

Main image: moofushi / Adobe Stock #458694942

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A whole-of-society approach is needed to meet ambitious global biodiversity targets by 2030. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) sets out 23 major biodiversity targets to achieve by 2030, from conserving and restoring ecosystems to aligning financial flows to support biodiversity outcomes.

Earlier in May, UNEP-WCMC hosted this year’s Nature Action Dialogues, which explored the critical need and options to scale private sector nature action, as part of its theme ‘Countdown to 2030: Aligning Ambition, Scaling Integrated Action’. The Nature Action Dialogues brought together businesses and financial institutions with leading biodiversity experts, to discuss approaches to integrate nature into corporate decision-making.  

Now in its third year, the Dialogues facilitate genuine private sector collaboration through expert, business and finance-led interactive workshops. Here, we highlight some of the key outcomes from this year’s Dialogues.

Aligning action across scales: from local to global

With the IPBES Business and Biodiversity Assessment launching in February this year, there is now a clear and robust scientific foundation for the relationships between business and biodiversity. The assessment provides clarity to enable businesses and financial institutions to take action to safeguard nature and reduce nature-related risk across their operations, supply chains and investment portfolios.

The assessment sets out key actions businesses can take to ensure that nature thrives, and to safeguard the ecosystem services on which companies and people depend. It shares the current state of knowledge on the connections between business and biodiversity, exploring themes from nature measurement through to mobilizing finance for nature. The Nature Action Dialogues’ opening plenaries considered how businesses can best follow through with these actions, as well as mechanisms for changing financial systems.

The opening panellists also highlighted the importance of building trust with local communities and stakeholders along value chains. Trust enables collaboration across complex value chains to better align local with global action. Working with communities is key as there is no one-size-fits-all approach to achieving global goals. An example of this was highlighted in a session on scaling biodiversity in the food sector, which stressed the importance of having expert intermediaries between retailers and farmers. These intermediaries can support farmers with finding opportunities to protect biodiversity at the farm-scale and help to monitor progress towards wider goals. This enables aligned action across value chains.

Ensuring decision-making is driven by the latest biodiversity science

Action is most effective when it is evidence-driven, whether from science, or insights from local communities. Various sessions explored the best practice in harnessing data and tools, such as Exploring Natural Capital Opportunities, Risks and Exposure (ENCORE), which helps companies identify their nature-related dependencies, impacts, risks and opportunities. As part of this year’s event, the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) team also launched a new tool to assess species’ extinction risk.

However, companies can find it challenging to navigate all the different tools available. A key takeaway from this year’s Dialogues was that using a range of approaches is better than just applying one. How nature is measured depends on the type of landscape, decisions being taken and the kind of knowledge being considered – whether species data or traditional knowledge. Applying a variety of approaches allows for a wider range of these points to be integrated, a principle that the Nature Tools Compass enables. One session also explored the possibility of a Nature Measurement Protocol, to provide clear overarching guidance on nature measurement.

Financing nature action

Investments that degrade nature outnumber those protecting nature at a ratio of 30:1. This needs to change, and financial flows must be redirected to activities that conserve and restore nature if we are to meet the KMGBF’s 2030 targets. A session with the World Economic Forum shared 10 key solutions to help close this finance gap, with 50 specific investment opportunities across different sectors. For example, one largely untapped opportunity for investment is the blue economy, to better ensure marine ecosystems are safeguarded for continued benefits for people and nature.

Another key insight for many at the Dialogues is that nature-related risks are already impacting business activities. This year’s Dialogues hosted a debate on whether nature-related risk was already a real financial threat for companies. The case was successfully made that businesses face supply chain disruptions due to nature-related shocks. For example, the clearing of habitats is hindering local climate regulation, making crops more vulnerable to extreme weather events. This vulnerability often results in decreased yields and particularly affects smallholder farmers. At present, financial markets respond to these risks only when they are realized. Once they have already affected supply chains. However, there are clear advantages in proactively accounting for – and managing – such risks.

The opening plenary session on ‘Applied Hope for Biodiversity’ highlighted that companies and financial institutions are starting to take nature risk seriously. Drawing on perspectives spanning policy, private finance, nature markets and disclosure, panellists explored which signals can genuinely shift financial behaviour to align with ambitions for nature. They highlighted what a credible path to 2030 looks like from those closest to capital-allocation decisions, including opportunities for redirecting harmful financial flows and increasing finance for activities that support nature.

Systemic solutions drawing on available knowledge

Biodiversity knowledge takes many forms, including the latest science and the long-standing traditional knowledge belonging to Indigenous Peoples and local communities. Representatives from Indigenous-led companies joined the Dialogues to share examples of what transformative business practices could look like. These include shifting the mindset underlying business-as-usual, moving from maximizing shareholder value to providing goods and services that meet people’s needs whilst living in harmony with nature.

We will release details about the 2027 Nature Action Dialogues in the coming months. Please email communications@unep-wcmc.org to register early interest.

Main image: Neville Ash, UNEP-WCMC director, addresses the closing plenary at the Nature Action Dialogues (© UNEP-WCMC)

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Climate change is rapidly transforming our planet. While its effects are being felt globally, some areas of the world face these impacts more acutely. Countries are largely underprepared for the serious consequences associated with longer periods of drought, higher levels of flooding, increased frequency and severity of wildfires and more intense heatwaves caused by climate change.  

While there has been global action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, climate change continues to proceed at a rapid rate.  A concerted effort to implement robust and resilient adaptation measures is required to protect people, economies and nature from its consequences. Some communities are feeling the impacts of climate change more immediately and severely than others, and these communities urgently need additional resources and capacity to adapt to a changing reality.  

Ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) is one way to respond to the urgent need for climate change adaptation. When working alongside communities to support the health of ecosystems and people’s livelihoods, EbA is a holistic type of adaptation that is often both resilient and cost-effective. 

Ecosystem-based adaptation provides ecological, social and economic benefits

While nature is heavily affected by climate change, it can also help to buffer the impacts of these changes on people. EbA refers to efforts to work with nature to help people adapt to the adverse effects of a changing climate. It works to restore ecosystems and can provide a range of ecological, social and economic benefits, from protecting coasts during storms to increasing food security. 

UNEP-WCMC works with a diverse range of partners and stakeholders to strengthen the evidence base for EbA. We also help develop tools to support on-the-ground implementation, as well as monitoring, evaluation and learning. For example, we co-developed an EbA Tools Navigator to help practitioners find the most relevant tools to support their EbA projects. Another example is our Partnerships for Large-scale Adaptation through Nature (PLAN) project, in collaboration with WWF, which is scoping the creation of an online knowledge platform for nature-based solutions related to climate adaptation. These activities directly support governments, civil society organizations and others who want to embrace EbA to protect communities, economies and nature from climate risks. 

Addressing challenges across the Water-Energy-Food-Ecosystem Nexus 

Water, energy and food are closely interlinked and competition for these, in some areas limited, resources is expected to become more acute as a consequence of climate change. For example, if there is less rainfall in an area, the remaining water will still need to be divided between a range of priorities. These could include producing drinking water for urban areas, hydro-electricity generation and irrigating crops that are a vital source of food for communities. This competition will further strain the natural ecosystems providing these resources and could increase social conflict. Thinking about the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus helps us to better understand and manage these interdependencies. 

The REXUS project, funded by the European Union, was a collaboration between 17 partners. It worked in five pilot river basins to help local stakeholders co design real-world solutions to nexus challenges. 

UNEP-WCMC helped incorporate nature-based solutions (NbS), including EbA, into plans to sustainably manage water, energy and food production in the face of climate change. We helped decision makers and stakeholders across the five pilot river basins to identify practical options to manage their resources. Improving the knowledge base on NbS led to a huge shift in the options that were considered when developing action plans in the pilot basins, with all ultimately including NbS. 

This work resulted in a decision support framework to help other stakeholders in similar situations evaluate and select appropriate and holistic solutions to nexus challenges. The implementation of resulting action plans will improve resilience and performance across the water-energy-food-ecosystem nexus in the Pinios, Lower Danube, Isonzo/Soča and Nima river basins, and throughout Peninsula Spain.

Supporting coastal communities with climate resilience 

Coastal communities in the Caribbean region experience multiple stressors caused by climate change, such as sea level rise, elevated water temperatures and an increasing frequency and severity of hurricanes. These events also impact natural ecosystems like coral reefs, which are already suffering from anthropogenic pressures, including unsustainable fishing practices. 

UNEP-WCMC is currently coordinating a project that aims to strengthen the climate resilience of coastal communities by working closely with local partners in the Dominican Republic, Antigua and Barbuda and Jamaica. 

Funded by the Caribbean Biodiversity Fund, the project will restore habitats that are vital both to adaptation and to local livelihoods, such as coral reefs and mangroves. Many of the Caribbean ecosystems that communities rely on for income are increasingly being impacted by climate change. The project is therefore also supporting work with local communities to develop alternative sustainable and resilient livelihoods, including beekeeping, ecotourism and the cultivation of sea moss. Local partners have already provided livelihood support and training to over 200 community members.  

We are also supporting partners with the assessment of climate risks and the development of methods for tracking the ecological and social impact of their activities. These monitoring, evaluation and learning protocols help partners to measure the impact of restoration activities over time, and identify where adaptive measures might be needed for them to reach their full potential.  

With climate impacts already being felt within ecosystems and communities across the globe, adaptation is vital to safeguard nature and people from the worst of these effects. Our work on EbA will continue to explore and strengthen the links between climate, nature and people’s well-being, including their social and economic security.

Please reach out to communications@unep-wcmc.org with any questions or opportunities regarding this blog.

Main image: Debbie Ann Powell, Adobe Stock #269882984

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A sacred forest in India. A community-managed fishery in the Philippines. A military training ground in Europe. What do these places have in common? 

They could all be sites where nature is thriving and is being conserved. But they are not protected areas.

These places have potential to be recognized as ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs): areas that are not necessarily managed primarily for conservation, but that result in effective, long-lasting benefits for nature.

OECMs are already playing an important role in meeting the global pledge to protect and conserve 30 per cent of Earth’s land and seas by 2030. These areas offer an opportunity to achieve all elements of the pledge by recognizing the conservation efforts and rights of diverse groups, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, who often have a deep history of conserving their lands and waters.

But the concept of OECMs is still relatively new, having been formally defined in the past decade. Greater understanding, awareness and recognition of OECMs is still needed.

What are OECMs? How are they different to protected areas?

Identifying which areas qualify as OECMs is a topic of huge interest, currently being explored by people across the world, from youth groups to governments and non-governmental organizations.

Through the Convention on Biological Diversity, governments have agreed on four criteria that an area must fulfil to be an OECM:

• Not be currently recognized as a protected area.
• Be governed and managed.
• Achieve sustained and effective contribution to the conservation of biodiversity.
• Support ecosystem functions and services and respect cultural, spiritual, socio-economic and other locally relevant values.

Beyond these broad criteria there is enormous variation in OECMs, in terms of their size, geography and the biodiversity they conserve, and in terms of how they are managed and who they are governed by. For instance, they might be sacred natural sites or forests governed by Indigenous Peoples or local communities; areas of the high seas managed by intergovernmental organizations; or whole watersheds managed by local or national governments.

While protected areas are primarily managed to conserve biodiversity, OECMs are often managed for other reasons – but crucially, they must result in effective, long-lasting conservation of nature. Protected areas are often created from scratch, requiring the development of management plans and the installation of new management authorities. In contrast, OECMs will usually be areas with pre-existing management objectives and structures. They are already effective in conserving biodiversity; often all that changes is that they are recognized as ‘OECMs’, acknowledging the conservation benefits they provide.

Where are most OECMs found?

OECMs have so far been formally recognized in 17 countries and territories, with nearly 7,500 reported. Sweden, Ukraine and Canada have recognized the highest number of OECMs so far. In the ocean, beyond national jurisdiction, there are multiple large OECMs in the North Atlantic.

Although most countries have not yet recognized OECMs and reported on them, OECMs are likely to exist in every country. Across Europe for example a recent study found that areas suitable for OECMs could cover up to 10 per cent of land.

The important next step for governments and other stakeholders is to develop appropriate local and national processes for identifying, recognizing and supporting sites as OECMs.

How can OECMs help us halt and reverse nature loss?

OECMs are often areas in which biodiversity has been conserved effectively for a long time, but are not yet accounted for in the global protected and conserved area network. Recognizing them is therefore an important opportunity to make progress towards protecting and conserving 30 per cent of Earth’s lands and seas. At the same time, recognition can enable those sites to access resources and additional support to ensure their conservation outcomes can be sustained into the future.

While recognizing OECMs is important for halting and reversing nature loss, efforts are also needed to expand and improve existing protected areas, designate new protected areas, and to improve how effective all of these sites are. It is also critical to recognize Indigenous and traditional territories in which biodiversity thrives in many parts of the world. Governments agreed when they adopted the 30 per cent target, that all these actions on protected and conserved areas must be done while recognizing and respecting the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

What difference are OECMs making to biodiversity?

OECMs are already making important contributions to the global network of protected and conserved areas, despite having only been recognized and reported by a few countries. As of April 2026, OECMs cover 1.1 per cent of the world’s land and 0.21 per cent of sea.

OECMs are also making an impact at a country level. In Morocco and Algeria OECMs now surpass the coverage provided by protected areas. In Morocco, this additional coverage increases the amount of land that is both protected and well-connected by 30 times. In the Philippines, OECMs account for over half of the marine area within protected and conserved areas.

The data on OECMs suggests they make a substantial difference to the coverage and connectivity of conservation networks. However, their impact on biodiversity also depends on how well they are governed and managed. This cannot be understood from analyzing spatial data alone. At present, there are limited data on whether OECMs are maintaining their biodiversity values over time, but these data are gradually improving.

Can an OECM also be a protected area or marine protected area?

No. By definition, an OECM is an area outside of protected areas, including marine protected areas. OECMs can however complement protected areas, for example by increasing ecological representation and enhancing connectivity across conserved landscapes.

Do OECMs protect Key Biodiversity Areas?

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are sites that contribute significantly to the rich diversity of life on Earth. For an area to qualify as an OECM, it must conserve and support important biodiversity. There are many ways to identify whether an area has important biodiversity, and recognition of the area as a KBA is one of these. There is therefore a lot of potential for countries to identify OECMs that overlap with KBAs. Currently over 120 KBAs that aren’t in protected areas are partially or fully covered by OECMs: 74 on land, 44 at sea and three freshwater KBAs. These OECMs are providing additional protection to these important biodiversity areas.

Can OECMs encourage more inclusive and diverse forms of land governance?

Yes, OECMs can be managed for a range of purposes and under diverse governance regimes. As with protected areas, OECMs can be governed by government entities at national or sub-national scales, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, private individuals and other public or private organizations. Because biodiversity conservation does not need to be a primary management objective for a site to qualify as an OECM, this opens up opportunities to recognize a greater diversity of sites that are managed for other reasons but are making important contributions to biodiversity conservation, such as archaeological sites, agricultural or hunting areas, or sacred religious sites.

OECMs under Indigenous Peoples’ and community governance are already being recognized and reported, so far in Colombia, the Cook Islands, Ecuador, Eswatini, Peru and the Philippines.

Can an ICCA be an OECM?

Territories and areas conserved by Indigenous Peoples and local communities are often called ICCAs or territories of life. ICCAs can indeed be recognized as OECMs, where Indigenous Peoples and local communities choose this form of recognition and following appropriate consent procedures. In some countries Indigenous Peoples and local communities are already engaged with identifying OECMs as a way to gain greater recognition and support for their conservation efforts. In other places, Indigenous Peoples and local communities have opted to seek recognition for their ICCAs as protected areas.

How are OECMs recognized in law? Do they have the same legal standing as protected areas?

How OECMs are recognized legally varies between countries. Some countries are developing national OECM-related laws, policies and other kinds of regulations. However, it is not a requirement for OECMs to be legally recognized. More important is that countries develop mechanisms, whether legal or otherwise, to ensure OECMs can be effectively governed and managed and their conservation outcomes sustained into the future, as complementary approaches to protected areas.

How are OECMs identified, recognized and reported?

Several tools are available to support the identification of sites as OECMs, including tools developed for specific national contexts. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) provides a practical checklist-style framework that allows users to assess whether a site meets the criteria for being recognized as an OECM. The framework follows a three-step process of screening, obtaining consent and conducting a full assessment. Data are needed on the governance and management regime of the area, long-term expectations for the area and other site-specific information. The assessment tool can be used by anyone provided they have the consent of the people or organization that manages the potential OECM, but the process for securing formal recognition of the area as an OECM will vary depending on the policies of the relevant national or subnational government.

Once identified, OECMs can be reported to the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA). The WDPCA is a joint product of UNEP and IUCN that is managed by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) in collaboration with national governments and other stakeholders.

The Protected Planet team at UNEP-WCMC process data on OECMs as they are received, with new records most often submitted by governments. Each month new data are updated on the publicly available Protected Planet website, which enables tracking of global progress towards conserving 30 per cent of Earth’s lands and seas.

How can local communities get involved in recognizing an OECM?

Action by local communities in individual sites is key to achieving global progress. Raising awareness of the opportunity to identify and recognize areas as OECMs is a first step to exploring whether the land owned, governed or managed by local communities might meet the criteria.

In the Cook Islands, government and community representatives made history by recognizing the first OECM in the Pacific Islands. A national process was undertaken to introduce the OECM concept and criteria, identify potential sites, carry out site-level screening and a full assessment and obtain consent to submit an application. In 2024, the National Environment Service submitted the Takitumu Conservation Area to the WDPCA.

The recognition has created more opportunities for the three governing communities to access funding for managing the Takitumu Conservation Area, and has raised awareness throughout regional forums of the incredible conservation efforts of local communities in the Cook Islands.

If you are beginning the journey of considering areas that might be recognized as OECMs, then the OECM Platform is the best starting point. The Platform provides comprehensive guidance, including a free online introductory course to help identify, report, monitor, and strengthen OECMs.

The Protected Planet team at UNEP-WCMC is also available to provide support if you are starting to explore OECM recognition. Every site recognized helps to sustain the biodiversity of that area into the future and brings us a step closer to conserving 30 per cent of Earth’s lands and waters.

This article was funded by a generous donation from the Global Youth Council on Science, Law & Sustainability

Main image: Caribou in Canada (Adobe_382649449)

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The only global treaty focused exclusively on the conservation of migratory species recently brought governments together in Campo Grande, Brazil. A team of experts represented the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) at the Fifteenth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS COP15).

Over the week in March, we presented the key findings of the interim State of the World’s Migratory Species report at the opening press conference and to the Plenary, engaged in Working Group discussions and supported our key partners.

We were delighted that the COP concluded successfully, with governments agreeing new commitments and measures that will advance conservation efforts for migratory species, including greater protection for 40 animals. Ahead of World Migratory Bird Day we celebrate the decisions that were made for four species in particular:

Barau’s petrel

Barau’s petrel is an iconic seabird of the Indian Ocean flyways, with a beautiful white-and-black underwing pattern that’s visible as it flits rapidly over the waves. It breeds only on the island of Réunion and can travel up to 600 km a day as it migrates seasonally across the Indian Ocean.

We haven’t had long to study this bird; it was only scientifically described in the 1960s and is already Endangered with as few as 30,000 individuals left. Despite this, along with 25 other small migratory seabirds that were added to the CMS Appendices at COP15, Barau’s petrel was previously not protected by any international laws.

Hudsonian godwit

One of the key findings of the interim State of the World’s Migratory Species report was that shorebirds are in trouble. Of the 26 CMS-listed species that have suffered from an increased risk of extinction in the last two years, 18 were migratory shorebirds.

The Hudsonian godwit is an emblem for many of the problems facing our migratory shorebirds. It’s losing its wetland habitat due to human activities such as aquaculture. It is also suffering from the impacts of climate change, as well as by overexploitation at stopover sites.

Ibera seedeater

The Ibera seedeater, which is a type of finch-like songbird, was only scientifically described in 2016. Despite knowing very little about it, researchers believe there are fewer than 10,000 left. It depends on seasonally flooded or wet grasslands, which are being lost throughout its range in South America at an alarming rate as natural grassland is lost to agriculture, or damaged by overgrazing, wildfires and invasive grass species. Globally, grassland habitats are at risk, poorly protected and undervalued, despite their incredible biodiversity.

Snowy owl

The snowy owl is highly nomadic and unpredictable – which makes seeing them in the wild particularly difficult, and makes researchers’ jobs that much harder. They move enormous distances and often nest in different locations year-to-year. This is one of the reasons the Appendix II listing is good news: it should lead to more data being shared across borders, so that we fill in data gaps and gain a better understanding of why snowy owl populations have declined rapidly in recent years.

Important agreement on monitoring conservation efforts

Ensuring that birds like the snowy owl and Ibera seedeater have a future requires us to track the steps that are being taken to conserve migratory species internationally, and whether these measures are having a positive impact at the global level. At CMS COP15, one of our major contributions was to help governments establish a clear process for understanding the extent to which collective commitments for migratory species have been carried out and are leading to positive change. We did this through our work to develop a monitoring framework for the CMS Strategic Plan for Migratory Species, which sets objectives for the Convention until 2032.

In the lead-up to the meeting we worked closely with CMS Parties, the CMS Scientific Council and the Secretariat to identify which metrics could be used to measure progress against the six goals and 23 targets of the Strategic Plan and develop a monitoring framework. Before the end of the meeting the Parties reached consensus to adopt this framework, supported by our team throughout the discussions and in finalizing the document. The final framework contains a balance between metrics that focus on species, their habitats, the pressures facing them, as well as measures of the degree of progress Parties are making to improve legislation, develop action plans and enhance cooperation.

We continue to work closely with Parties and the Secretariat on the next steps for putting the framework into practice – to track and drive progress on the urgent actions now needed to save the world’s migratory animals.

Main image: Hudsonian godwits (Image: Adobe_750040668)

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Data are never an unbiased representation of the world. Rather, datasets are the result of decisions regarding what can and should be measured and often represent only the priorities of the decision-makers.

As a result, there is a risk that datasets marginalize those who are less visible. True data justice ensures that all people, including Indigenous Peoples and local communities, are made visible, represented and treated fairly in the decision-making as to what gets measured and monitored, and in the conservation actions selected based on the data.

Under Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) governments and other stakeholders bring information together from all over the world to monitor and report on their progress towards conserving 30 per cent of the Earth by 2030. As the global platform where knowledge and data on protected and conserved areas are recorded, the Protected Planet Initiative at the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) plays a crucial role in influencing decisions related to area-based conservation worldwide. We therefore recognize our responsibility to strive for fairness in the way people are represented and affected by Protected Planet data and its use.

Since Protected Planet’s inception, we have been working to address justice-related challenges. In January 2023, UNEP-WCMC experts and academics held a two-day workshop that used data justice principles to further examine the data lifecycle and practices of Protected Planet and develop recommendations for achieving a more just Protected Planet. Following renewed attention in a recent paper from experts on the importance of environmental data justice to achieving area-based conservation goals, here are five ways the team has made progress to ensure the data are more representative, transparent and accessible:

1. Addressing geographic bias

Geographic biases in Protected Planet have long been an issue, with some countries better resourced to gather, standardize and submit quality data. To address this, the team work closely with regional partners and national governments to strengthen countries’ capacity to provide accurate and up-to-date data to the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA). This includes targeted support for countries with out-of-date data and those that have requested additional support.

Starting in 2014, UNEP-WCMC collaborated on a programme that enabled the development of five specialized data centres called regional observatories across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. These centres provide support to countries on their protected and conserved area data, and are now mandated by the UN Convention on Biological Diversity to support countries in the implementation of the KMGBF.

In partnership with the Bezos Earth Fund, UNEP-WCMC provides tailored country-level support in the Tropical Andes and the Congo Basin to improve national reporting. The Protected Planet team will continue providing targeted support to countries and regions as needed.

2. Strengthening consent and collaboration

Protected Planet’s data reporting process includes a step where data providers are asked to sign an agreement that confirms consent has been given to publish the data, and, where relevant, with the free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

Adhering to FPIC processes is critical, both in how data are reported and how sites are recognized. The Protected Planet team have provided technical support to countries on strengthening their approach to FPIC. Peru and Colombia now provide supplementary documentation related to FPIC for ‘other effective area-based conservation measures’ (OECMs). We supported the Colombian NGO Fundación Natura to develop recommendations for adhering to FPIC processes in OECM designation and reporting, which have been shared with the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development.

3. Increasing representation of non-state actors

Protected Planet’s data currently have limited representation of conservation efforts by private actors, Indigenous Peoples and local communities. To better reflect the governance diversity of the world’s protected and conserved areas and encourage more complete reporting toward global conservation targets, we are promoting and including areas under the governance of these groups. One way we do this is supporting the identification and reporting of OECMs, with recent examples in the Cook Islands, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru.

We are also incorporating more diverse data sources by supporting direct reporting from non-state actors. Indigenous Peoples and local communities can contribute to the ICCA Registry, a platform that highlights their leadership in conservation and promotes recognition and support for their self-governance and traditional conservation practices. We do this work as part of the ICCA Global Support Initiative, a broader global effort to provide recognition and support for the vital contributions that these groups have made and continue to make to conservation.

4. Supporting data verification and peer review

To maintain the accuracy of data and ensure adherence to FPIC with data reported to the WDPCA, there is a verification step for all data submitted by non-state actors. National governments can verify data, but we’re also working to support alternative non-state mechanisms. For Indigenous Peoples and local communities, verification can be done through national and regional peer-support and review networks made up of other Indigenous Peoples and local communities. We created a manual to support the development of such networks, compiling the contributions and advice of networks that have already developed these processes.

5. Enhancing accuracy and accessibility of data

Protected Planet has made its guidance materials and resources more accessible and reflective of diverse governance structures. This includes dedicated guidance for reporting privately governed and Indigenous and community-led protected and conserved areas. Alongside this, we have expanded the Global Database on Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME) to better capture information on the effectiveness of sites, covering the quality of governance, management and biodiversity outcomes, with an accompanying new manual to support reporting. The WDPCA database structure has also been updated and now includes a new field that allows data providers to give visibility to the actors involved in shared governance arrangements.

These efforts make it easier for data providers to contribute more accurate and comprehensive information to Protected Planet and provide additional transparency for users on the quality of sites, including whether they are governed equitably.

Next steps for data justice in Protected Planet

There is still much to be done. Future work being considered includes making the database and website available in more languages, providing a stronger mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and local communities to dispute data and a mechanism to support the verification of data from private actors.

These ongoing and future actions will help to ensure that Protected Planet is a reliable, inclusive and accessible platform to monitor progress on all elements of Target 3 in a more just way.

Main image: A riverside village along the Canal des Pangalanes in Madagascar (Elise Belle)

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The study published in Communications Earth & Environment involved input from 467 peatland experts across 54 countries to determine which research questions matter most for understanding and protecting peatlands going forwards. The research highlights where knowledge gaps exist and where new information could make the biggest impact for climate change mitigation, biodiversity conservation and sustainable land management. 

Though peatlands only cover about three per cent of the Earth’s land surface, they store more carbon than all of its forests combined. When healthy, they lock away this carbon for thousands of years, but drainage, fire, peat extraction or land-use change can quickly turn them into a large source of greenhouse gas emissions. Despite their importance, we still lack key knowledge about how peatlands respond to climate change, how to restore them effectively and how to protect them while supporting the local and Indigenous communities who often rely on them. 

A global effort to set research priorities 

To address this challenge, the researchers carried out a global survey of peatland scientists, practitioners and policy experts from across the globe to understand what they thought were the most pressing, unanswered questions across peatland research. These questions covered everything from ecology and hydrology to biogeochemistry, climate science and social science, across boreal, temperate and tropical peatlands, including those in Europe, the peat swamp forests of the tropics and the Arctic tundra.  

Key themes for peatland research  

Through this peatlands-community survey, the researchers have identified 50 priority research questions which can guide peatland research over the next 10 years. It is suggested that if these 50 questions are addressed, we will be able to fill critical knowledge gaps and support evidence-based decision making on peatlands management.  

The 50 questions are grouped into five key themes: peatland carbon dynamics and climate regulation; climate change and human impacts on peatland functioning and resilience; peatland management and restoration; technological advances for peatland science and monitoring; and communities, policies and economic frameworks.  

The priority questions include ones such as:  

• What role do peatlands play in regulating global climate and to what extent will protecting peatlands contribute to mitigating climate change? 

• What are the climate change thresholds, such as specific temperature or drought levels, at which peatlands in different regions reach tipping points? 

• Which restoration approaches yield the most effective outcomes to restore ecosystem function in degraded peatlands (e.g., from drainage, agriculture, mining)? 

Other key questions relate to emerging technologies and fair cross-sectoral governance. As new technologies such as artificial intelligence develop, so do questions on how to effectively use them to fill data gaps across different scales, and how to standardise methodologies. Moreover, understanding how peatlands are valued by local communities is vital in ensuring inclusive governance across local and national scales.  

What is clear from the research is that addressing these questions will require collaboration across disciplines, and inputs from local communities, peatlands scientists, as well as economists, social scientists, climate scientists and many others.  

One of the peatland experts surveyed was Dr Lera Miles, UNEP-WCMC’s Principal Specialist in nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation who believes that

This important research and the list of priority questions provides a guide for future research and investment into peatlands, to ensure that efforts remain focused on addressing the most pressing knowledge gaps to support effective action across the globe. 

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Ashley brings extensive leadership experience across technology, media and purpose-driven organizations, alongside a strong commitment to nature and conservation. He will work closely as Chair-elect with the current Chair and Board over the coming months before formally taking up the role in September.

Ashley began his career as a management consultant in the technology, media and telecommunications sector before joining the BBC. There, he became the youngest ever member of the Executive Board as Director of New Media & Technology. During his time at the BBC, he played a central role in the development and launch of BBC iPlayer & BBC.co.uk and was responsible for the BBC’s Technology, R&D, and Archives portfolios, helping to shape the organization’s early digital transformation.

He subsequently served as Managing Director of Microsoft’s Consumer and Online business in the UK overseeing products including MSN, Windows, and Hotmail during a period of rapid growth in mobile and online services.

Ashley later moved to the UK’s largest regional press business as Chief Executive, where he led a significant turnaround including overseeing the acquisition and growth of the i newspaper.

Alongside his executive career, Ashley has held a number of non-executive roles. He served for seven years on the board of the British Film Institute and chaired the News Media Association following the Leveson Inquiry. Most recently, he served as Non-executive director and Chair of the Eden Project Ltd., where he gained experience of UK charity governance and helped guide the organization through a period of operational and financial opportunities and challenges. He worked with the team to help extend the Eden model beyond Cornwall, advancing projects such as Eden Project North, and supported the repositioning of Eden as a global sustainability platform, increasing its relevance to major issues such as climate change, the economy and systems thinking.

He has also been a Non-Executive Director of British Marine (Federation) and now advises the organization, supporting its sustainability and training agenda across the marine sector.

Ashley brings particular operational strengths, including in the use of technology, data and analytics to support organizational performance and impact, with a focus on applying artificial intelligence and geospatial technologies to environmental decision-making.

He has developed a strong and sustained focus on biodiversity and conservation through his work with the Eden Project Ltd. & British Marine, as well as through personal advisory roles and investments in sustainable business.

Ashley will take up the role of Chair following a period of transition with the current Chair, Robin Bidwell.

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