countries for global biodiversity , Madagascar and Gabon , made conservation history fulfilling pledges each had made to protect 10 % of their country ’ s land at a meeting just like Montreal . In Madagascar , President Ravolamanana immediately moved to triple the country ’ s area under protection — that work continues today , with Rainforest Trust ’ s assistance . In Gabon , President Bongo created a brand new park system to protect 11 % of the country ’ s land area .
Then , in 2010 , the nations of the world upped the ante , pledging to protect 17 % of Earth ’ s land and 10 % of seas by 2020 . They didn ’ t quite make it , but came close , and many countries were spurred to action as the deadline neared . Canada massively expanded parks and Indigenous territories , and Colombia rushed towards 30 % with a pledge from Rainforest Trust for $ 15 million in support . numbala valley | rainforest trust
The Path to 30x30
Imagine that a third of all the land on Earth was protected for nature — not just the ice-covered mountains and the deserts , but most of the world ’ s great biodiversity hotspots : the Andes , the Albertine Rift in East Africa , the Annamite Mountains in Southeast Asia . Imagine that a third of the seas were safe from our ravages , from industrial trawlers and shark-finners , including the “ rainforests of the seas ,” coral reefs , as well as mangroves and seagrass , and even a third of the vast open ocean .
Achieving this has been Rainforest Trust ’ s mission , with minor tweaks , since 1988 . Astonishingly , in 2022 , 196 countries joined us and pledged to make this happen , not in another 35 years , but in 8 .
Will this incredibly ambitious target , just one of 23 agreed in Montreal in December , be fully achieved ? Probably not . Will some countries cheat or backslide ? Almost certainly . So that means this is just more blah blah blah , right ?
Wrong ! This agreement , which would not have happened without the wonderful work of our partners , the High Ambition Coalition and Campaign for Nature , will drive conservation action around the world . For all its faults and imperfections , it will supercharge Rainforest Trust ’ s mission and accelerate our movement to save nature .
When I got my first conservation management job in 2002 , the presidents of two of the most important African
With 30x30 now agreed , we at Rainforest Trust , and our donors and supporters , have our work cut out over the next eight years !
Priority one is the Brazilian Amazon , where some 138 million acres of undesignated land is up for protection — the largest expanse of intact , unprotected rainforest in the world . Just before Montreal , the people of Brazil brought back Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva as president . During his previous two terms , 2005-2012 , Lula oversaw a more than 80 % reduction in deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon and , as a result , 80 % reduction in Brazil ’ s total carbon emissions — the largest-ever reduction by a major country . Much of that progress was reversed under Lula ’ s successors , especially Jair Bolsonaro .
Back in power , Lula has pledged to halt deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon by 2030 . His Minister of Environment , Marina Silva , accompanied him to Washington last month , and I had a chance to meet with her in person . She pledged to protect the entire 138 million acres of undesignated Amazon forest over the next four years of Lula ’ s term . In return , Rainforest Trust pledged to support this goal with $ 50 million of charitable investment .
These two developments , the Montreal Agreement and Lula ’ s re-election , provide an extraordinary , maybe unique , opportunity for Rainforest Trust and our donors and supporters to accelerate towards 30 % protected and deliver on our mission . What seemed , for much of the past 35 years , a leap of faith , can now become a program of work .
– Dr . James C . Deutsch | CEO
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