Organizations urge governments at COP17 to keep extractives out of protected areas

More than 80 conservation, Indigenous, and civil society organizations have issued a joint call to governments meeting at the COP17 United Nations biodiversity summit in Yerevan, Armenia. Mongabay reported that the coalition is urging world leaders to keep mining, oil, and gas extraction operations strictly out of protected areas to uphold global conservation goals. [1][2]

The joint letter was released on October 2 in advance of the summit. Mongabay reported that the organizations warned that meeting a numerical target will mean little if areas designated for conservation remain exposed to destructive industrial activities. An October 8 report by Earth Insight and its partners noted that nearly 62 million hectares of protected areas remain threatened. [1]

The initiative aims to uphold the global 30x30 biodiversity target, which seeks to protect 30 percent of the planet's land and oceans. Efforts to safeguard marine areas are already underway worldwide, as HEROIC BREAKING NEWS reported earlier when Belize submitted a draft marine spatial plan in September to establish three offshore protected areas to fulfill its Blue Bond agreement commitments. [1][5]