Biodiversity: The canary in the mine
Environment — Global
Human activity is destroying life on Earth on an unprecedented scale. We must urgently and radically re-evaluate nature in our economic thinking and actions, or risk our own species’ survival
Life on land
Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss
Targets
Indicators
Target
15.1
By 2020, ensure the conservation, restoration and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems and their services, in particular forests, wetlands, mountains and drylands, in line with obligations under international agreements
Indicators
15.1.1
Forest area as a proportion of total land area
15.1.2
Proportion of important sites for terrestrial and freshwater biodiversity that are covered by protected areas, by ecosystem type
Target
15.2
By 2020, promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally
Indicators
15.2.1
Progress towards sustainable forest management
Target
15.3
By 2030, combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world
Indicators
15.3.1
Proportion of land that is degraded over total land area
Target
15.4
By 2030, ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, in order to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development
Indicators
15.4.1
Coverage by protected areas of important sites for mountain biodiversity
15.4.2
(a) Mountain Green Cover Index and (b) proportion of degraded mountain land
Target
15.5
Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species
Indicators
15.5.1
Red List Index
Target
15.6
Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to such resources, as internationally agreed
Indicators
15.6.1
Number of countries that have adopted legislative, administrative and policy frameworks to ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits
Target
15.7
Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products
Indicators
15.7.1
Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked
Target
15.8
By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species
Indicators
15.8.1
Proportion of countries adopting relevant national legislation and adequately resourcing the prevention or control of invasive alien species
Target
15.9
By 2020, integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies and accounts
Indicators
15.9.1
(a) Number of countries that have established national targets in accordance with or similar to Aichi Biodiversity Target 2 of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 in their national biodiversity strategy and action plans and the progress reported towards these targets; and (b) integration of biodiversity into national accounting and reporting systems, defined as implementation of the System of Environmental-Economic Accounting
Target
15.a
Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems
Indicators
15.a.1
(a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments
Target
15.b
Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation
Indicators
15.b.1
(a) Official development assistance on conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity; and (b) revenue generated and finance mobilized from biodiversity-relevant economic instruments
Target
15.c
Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities
Indicators
15.c.1
Proportion of traded wildlife that was poached or illicitly trafficked
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A G20 for the global good
Global governance
Recent years have seen the G20 become more factional, with countries competing for national advantage. Indonesia, holder of the G20 presidency for 2022, intends to rally the member countries to deliver a unified, coordinated response to global challenges: a G20 for the SDGs
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Harnessing the power of photosynthesis for negative emissions
Climate — Global
All IPCC models to stay within the 1.5ºC limit call for net negative CO2
emissions. Fortunately, the technologies we require can be found in nature
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Spatial planning for land-based policy objectives
Climate — Global
Action-oriented maps and data are critical to tackling the biodiversity and climate crises
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It is frequently claimed that the growing human population can not be fed without destroying the climate. This is a fallacy. Applying sustainable soil management techniques has the potential to reduce current agricultural emissions by a third
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Connecting Nigeria’s national climate goals to local action
Climate — Global, Sub-Saharan Africa
Sizeable and impactful climate action can also be achieved through small, coordinated actions by individuals. Students at Osun State University, Nigeria, are gaining the knowledge to make their own contribution to combating climate change in a program that can be replicated across the education system
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Investing in nature: a critical element in Australia’s efforts on climate action and sustainability
Climate — Global, Pacific and South-eastern Asia
Australia has a significant opportunity to be a solution provider in nature-based investment. However, the present economic system does not include the value of ecosystems, despite the fact that ecosystem health is essential to our very survival. An Australian program seeks to address this challenge
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On the brink of the abyss
Climate — Global, Latin America and the Caribbean
As the UN Secretary-General warns, humanity is facing a cascade of crises. COP26 will be the moment of truth for climate and all countries must step up
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Strengthening forests: our long-term carbon sinks
Climate — Europe, Global
Land-based carbon sinks should play a bigger role in national and international climate action planning
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Reliable climate monitoring is essential for SDG success
Climate — Global
COP26 will inspire new efforts to reach the ambitious SDG targets by 2030. Earth observation data from Copernicus will help us achieve these goals
