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PolicyResearchWorkingPaper11269

Country-LevelPathwaysto30x30

andTheirImplicationsforGlobal

BiodiversityProtection

SusmitaDasgupta

BrianBlankespoor

DavidWheeler

WORLDBANKGROUP

DevelopmentResearchGroup&DevelopmentDataGroup

December2025

Averifiedreproducibilitypackageforthispaperisavailableat

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fordirectaccess.

ProducedbytheResearchSupportTeam

PolicyResearchWorkingPaper11269

Abstract

TheGlobalBiodiversityFrameworkadoptedattheUnitedNationsBiodiversityConferencesetatargettoprotect30percentoftheworld’slandandseaareasby2030.Thispaperevaluatesthepotentialcontributionofthe30x30initiativetobiodiversityconservationbyexaminingitsimplicationsforspeciesthatareendemicoroccupyverysmallhabitats.Usingmorethan600,000speciesoccurrencemapsderivedfromGlobalBiodiversityInformationFacil-itydata—substantiallyexpandingrepresentationforplantsandinvertebrates—thestudydevelopshigh-resolution,country-specifictemplatesthatidentifypriority-orderedprotectedareasoptimizedforcost-effectivespeciescoverage.Eachiterationexpandsprotectiontomaximizegainsforunprotectedspeciesuntilfullcoverageisachieved,allow-ingflexibilitytoadapttonationaleconomicandpoliticalconstraints,includingthe30percenttargetof30x30.Theresultsincludepriority-orderedterrestrialprotectedareasfor

138countriesandmarineprotectedareasfor160countries.Atthegloballevel,fullprotectionofcurrentlyprotectedspeciesalignswith30percentterrestrialandmarinecover-age.Expandinggloballandprotectionfrom14.8to18.0percentandmarineprotectionfrom16.6to19.9percentwouldachieve100percentspeciescoverageinthedatabase.However,unevenspeciesdistributionsmakethisinfeasi-bleforallcountrieswithinthe30percentterritoriallimit.Amongthe242,414criticalspeciesanalyzed,65.5per-centarecurrentlyprotected.Mostoftheremaindercouldbecoveredwithinnational30percentlimits,althoughsomecountrieswouldneedtoexceedthem.Theanalysishighlightsopportunity-costdisparities—particularlyforlow-incomecountries—indicatingthateffectiveimplemen-tationof30x30willrequireinternationalcompensationmechanisms.Thestudyunderscoresthattruesuccessliesinspeciesprotectionratherthanterritorialextent.

ThispaperisaproductoftheDevelopmentResearchGroupandtheDevelopmentDataGroup,DevelopmentEconomics.ItispartofalargereffortbytheWorldBanktoprovideopenaccesstoitsresearchandmakeacontributiontodevelopmentpolicydiscussionsaroundtheworld.PolicyResearchWorkingPapersarealsopostedontheWebat

http://www.worldbank

.org/prwp.Theauthorsmaybecontactedatbblankespoor@.Averifiedreproducibilitypackageforthispaperisavailableat

,click

here

fordirectaccess.

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ThePolicyResearchWorkingPaperSeriesdisseminatesthefindingsofworkinprogresstoencouragetheexchangeofideasaboutdevelopmentissues.Anobjectiveoftheseriesistogetthefindingsoutquickly,evenifthepresentationsarelessthanfullypolished.Thepaperscarrythenamesoftheauthorsandshouldbecitedaccordingly.Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheInternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment/WorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthegovernmentstheyrepresent.

Country-LevelPathwaysto30x30andTheirImplicationsforGlobalBiodiversity

Protection

SusmitaDasgupta

BrianBlankespoor

DavidWheeler

AuthorizedfordistributionbyFlorenceKondylis,ResearchManager,DevelopmentResearchGroup,WorldBankGroup

Keywords:BiodiversityConservation;30x30;ProtectedArea;Terrestrial;Marine

JELClassi?cations:Q57;Q58;Q23;Q24;Q25

Acknowledgments:ThisworkingpaperispartoftheSpace2StatsProgram,supportedbyagrantfromtheWorldBank’sGlobalDataFacilityand?nancedbytheEuropeanCommission’sDirectorate-GeneralforRegionalandUrbanPolicy(DGREGIO).Itsgoalistoenhancedatadisaggregation,availability,andstandardization,whileadvancingresearchandinsightsonsubnationaldevelopmentchallenges,includingclimate,biodiversity,cleanenergy,andgenderdimensions.

Thefindings,interpretations,andconclusionsexpressedinthispaperareentirelythoseoftheauthors.TheydonotnecessarilyrepresenttheviewsoftheInternationalBankofReconstructionandDevelopment/WorldBankanditsaffiliatedorganizations,orthoseoftheExecutiveDirectorsoftheWorldBankorthecountriestheyrepresent.

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1.Introduction

Ensuringalivableplanetandendingpovertydependonsustainabledevelopmentthatprotectsnatureandpromotessharedprosperity.Healthyecosystemsprovidefood,cleanwater,andclimatestabilityfoundationsforhumansurvivalandeconomicgrowth.Byconservingbiodiversity,wesustainagriculture,fishing,andothernature-basedlivelihoods,especiallyforthepoor.Resilientecosystemsalsoshieldusfromclimateshocks,makingbiodiversityconservationessentialnotonlyforenvironmentalsustainabilitybutalsoforpovertyreductionandlong-termeconomicresilience.

Yet,theworldisrapidlylosingbiodiversity.

1

Globalrecognitionofbiodiversitylossbeganinthe1960s,asscientificconcerngrewoveracceleratingspeciesextinctionandecosystemdegradation.The1972UnitedNationsConferenceontheHumanEnvironmentinStockholm

2

markedthefirstmajorinternationalresponse,leadingtothecreationoftheUnitedNationsEnvironmentProgramme(UNEP).UNEPsmandateincludedmonitoringenvironmentalconditions,informingpolicywithscience,andcoordinatingresponsestoglobalenvironmentalchallenges(FerraroandFailler2024).

ThiseffortwasreinforcedbytheConventiononBiologicalDiversity(CBD)

3

andadoptedatthe1992EarthSummitinRiodeJaneiro,whichsetaglobalframeworkforconservation,sustainableuse,andequitablebenefit-sharing.Despitesubsequentadoptionofglobalconservationgoals,includingtheAichiBiodiversityTargets(20102020),

4

rapidbiodiversitylosshascontinuedbecauseofweakimplementation,limitedfinancing,andfragmentedgovernance.Pimmetal.(2014)estimatedtherateofspeciesextinctiontobeatleast1,000timesthenaturalbackgroundrate.TheLivingPlanetIndex(LPI),whichtrackstrendsinglobalvertebratepopulations,reportsa69%averagedeclinesince1970.

Inresponse,188governmentsratifiedtheKunming-MontrealGlobalBiodiversityFramework(GBF)atCOP15inDecember2022.TheGBFsetsambitioustargetsfor2030andalong-termvisionoflivinginharmonywithnatureby2050.Amongitscoretargetsareprotecting30%oftheworldslandandseaareasby2030,restoring30%ofdegradedecosystems,andreducingpollutiontonon-harmfullevels.

5

,

6

Theseambitiousgoalsaimtoprotectthemillionsofspeciesthatinhabittheworldsterrestrialandmarineenvironments.

1/global-assessment

2

/en/conferences/environment/stockholm1972

3

/doc/legal/cbd-en.pdf

4/sp/targets#:~:text=Strategic%20Plan%202011%2D2020%20//,knowledge%20manage

ment%20and%20capacity%20building

5/gbf/targets#:~:text=The%20KunmingMontreal%20Global%20Biodiversity%20Framewor

k%20has%2023%20a

6Inadditiontoarea-basedconservationtargets,theKunming-MontrealGlobalBiodiversityFrameworkemphasizesrespectforIndigenousrights,equitablegovernance,andtheintegrationofconservation

e?ortswithinbroaderterrestrialandmarinelandscapesandseascapes.

2

Acentralpillaroftheglobalconservationresponsehasbeentheestablishmentandexpansionofprotectedareas(UNEP-WCMC&IUCN2024;Dietz,Belote&Aplet2023;Watsonetal.2014;UNEP-WCMC,IUCN,andNGS2012;GorenfloandBrandon2006).TheseareashavehistoricalprecedentsasdiverseastheTobagoMainRidgeForestReserve(1776)inpresent-dayTrinidadandTobagoandtheBogdKhanUulProtectedAreainMongolia(1778).Inthemodernera,globalexpansionofprotectedareashasplayedapivotalroleinbiodiversityconservation.Appendix1providesachronologicallistofselectedprotectedareas.

Whileprotectedareashavegrownrapidly,theirofficialdesignationdoesnotguaranteethesurvivalofthespeciesthatinhabitthem.Sustainabilitydependsonadequatefinancing,politicalsupport,effectivemanagement,andequitablegovernance(Coadetal.,2019;Geldmannetal.2019;Watsonetal.2014;Leveringtonetal.2010;Masciaetal.2014).Inaddition,theKunming-Montreal30x30accord(henceforth30x30)recognizesthatexistingprotectedareasarenotsufficientforglobalbiodiversityconservation.

Whiletheexpansionofprotectedterritoryunder30x30isnecessary,itscontributiontoglobalbiodiversityconservationwilldependonthenumberofconservation-criticalspeciesthatitactuallyprotects.Successfulexpansionwilldependonidentifyingcriticalspecies,knowingwheretheyarelocated,andensuringtheirprotectionwhileacknowledgingthatprotectedterritorieshaveopportunitycostswhichmaybeonerousforpoorcountries.Thispaperdevelopsandimplementsanempiricalframeworkforaddressingtheseissues,startingfromtherealitythatprotectionisalreadywell-advancedinsomecountries,bothrichandpoor,whileitisverysparseinothers.

Theremainderofthepaperisstructuredasfollows.Section2addressestheidentificationandlocationofcriticalspecies,incorporatingtheradicalexpansionofspeciescoverageprovidedbynewinformationfromtheGlobalBiodiversityInformationFacility(GBIF).InSection3,weassesstheprotectionaffordedtocriticalspeciesbytheexistingglobalnetworkofprotectedareas.Section4establishesinitialbenchmarksforcountriesbydeterminingthepercentoftheirterrestrialandmarineareasthatarecurrentlyprotected.Section5drawsontheprevioustwosectionstoinvestigatethecurrentprotectionstatusofcriticalspeciesincountrieswithdifferentlevelsofterritorialprotection.InSection6,wedevelopacountry-leveltemplateforcost-effectiveexpansionofprotectedareas.Section7usesthistemplatetoproducecountrymapsthatidentifynewterrestrialandmarineprotectedareasintheorderdictatedbytheircontributionstoprotectionofpreviously-unprotectedspecies.Wedevelop138terrestrialcasesand160marinecases,withillustrationsforMexico,MozambiqueandPapuaNewGuinea.Section8aggregatesthecountry-levelresultsinSection7toassesstheglobalandregionalimplicationsfor30x30,whileSection9summarizesandconcludesthepaper.

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2.IdentificationandLocationofCriticalSpecies

2.1ExpandingSpeciesRepresentation

Historically,theglobalprotectedareanetworkhastendedtoalignwithregionsinhabitedbywell-documentedterrestrialvertebrates,particularlymammalsandbirds.Othertaxahavedifferentspatialdistributions,andtheconsequentmismatchbetweenprotectedareasandspecieshabitatshasraisedconcernsabouttheadequacyofcurrentconservationefforts(Dasgupta,Wheeler,&Blankespoor2025b;Duffusetal.2023;Bax&Francesconi2019;Suetal.2019;Lietal.2018;Oliveiraetal.2017;Tantipisanuhetal.2016;Pino-Del-Carpio2014;Brugière&Scholte2013).

Morecomprehensivespeciesprotectionhasbeenhinderedbytherelativescarcityofhabitatmapsforinvertebrates,plantsandless-documentedvertebrates.Thedevelopmentofhabitatmapshasbeenconstrainedbythetime-andresource-intensityofexpert-basedapproaches.Asaresult,thestockofnewhabitatmapshasgrownslowlyandexistingmapshavebeenupdatedinfrequently.Incontrast,recentyearshavewitnessedasurgeingeoreferencedspeciesoccurrencerecordsmaintainedbytheGlobalBiodiversityInformationFacility(GBIF).Thesecurrentlyincludesightingsforover2millionspecies,thousandsofnewsightingsareloggeddaily,andthegapcontinuestogrowbetweenspeciesmappedbyexpert-basedapproachesandspecieswithgeoreferencedsightingsintheGBIFdatabase.Recentresearch(Dasgupta,BlankespoorandWheeler2024)hasaddressedthischallengebyapplyingmachine-basedpatternrecognitiontechniquestodirectlyestimatespeciesdistributionmapsfromGBIFoccurrencedata.Thisdata-drivenapproachhasenabledthegenerationofoccurrenceregionmapsforover600,000species,encompassingvertebrates,invertebrates,plants,fungi,andotherunderrepresentedtaxaacrossterrestrial,freshwaterandmarineecosystems.

Table1illustratesthedramaticincreaseinspeciesrepresentationenabledbytheGBIFoccurrencedata.Vertebrateshaveoftendominatedpastspeciesmappingexercises,butinthenewdatabasetheyonlyaccountfor8.6%ofthetotal.Representationisgreatlyexpandedforplantsandinvertebratearthropods,whichrespectivelyaccountfor37.8%and35.5%ofthetotal.Otherspecies(principallymolluscsandfungi)accountfortheremaining18.1%.

4

Table1:Speciesrepresentationbygroup

Group

ArthropodsPlants

Vertebrates

Other

Total

Count

215,589

229,230

52,073

109,592

606,484

Percent35.5

37.8

8.6

18.1100.0

2.2IdentificationofCriticalSpecies

TheradicalexpansionofspeciesrepresentationintheGBIFoccurrencedatahasintroducedhundredsofthousandsofspeciesthathavenotbeenassessedforextinctionriskbytheIUCNandotherorganizations.Dasguptaetal.(2025a)havedevelopedpreliminaryextinctionriskestimatesforthesespecies,buttheywarrantfurthercriticalreview.Forthisexercise,wehavechosentofocusonendemismandhabitatsizebecausetheyareclearlyobservableandgenerallyrecognizedasimportantfactorsforbiodiversityconservation.

Endemismplaysanimportantroleinthepolicydialoguebecausecountrieshavestewardshipresponsibilitiesforendemicspeciesthatresidesolelywithintheirborders.Habitatsizehasalsobeenrecognizedasacriticalconservationfactor.Jenkinsetal.

(2015)notethat“smallrangesizeisthebestpredictorofextinctionriskand,thus,thefirstmetricforconservationpriority”.Thisfactorhasbeenstudiedextensivelyintheempiricalliterature(Krausetal.2023;Veachetal.2017;Purvisetal.2000;Jenkinsetal.2015;ManneandPimm2001;Manne,BrooksandPimm1999).Weidentifyaspeciesashavingasmallhabitatifitsoccurrencemapareaislessthan625sqkm.Thisisequivalenttoasquareareawith25kmsides.Otherwise,weidentifyaspeciesas“l(fā)argehabitat”.Weidentifyspeciesascriticaliftheyareendemicorhaveasmallhabitat.Forthisanalysis,weidentify242,414criticalspeciesthatareendemicorhavesmalloccurrenceareas.Ofthese,165,942speciesareterrestrialand76,472aremarine.

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3.SpeciesProtectionRates

Insomecountries,afewspeciesarelegallyprotectedfromhuntingorotherdirectdamageregardlessoftheirlocation.Inthevastmajorityofcases,however,speciesareaffordedprotectiononlywithinprotectedareas.AsFigure1shows,criticalspeciesinourdatabasevarywidelyintheireffectiverateofprotection–thepercentoftheiroccurrenceareathatlieswithinprotectedareas.Around25,000terrestrialspeciesineachcategory(Figure1a)haveaneffectiverateatornear0,5,10or15percent.Athigherprotectionrates,thenumberofspeciesdeclinesveryrapidly.CriticalmarinespecieshaveanevenmoreskeweddistributioninFigure1(b):Over35,000have0ornear-0protection,15,000have5%protection,andthenumberstailoffveryrapidlyforhigherrates.

Insummary,currently-protectedareasaffordsomeprotectiontomanycriticalspecies,buteffectiveprotectionratesaremodestinpractice.Toestimatethemodalprotectionrate,weassignbothterritorialandmarinespecieswithnon-zeroprotectiontoprotectionrategroups[5%,10%,…,95%,100%].

7

Wefindthatthefirstgrouphasthegreatestnumberofspecies(46,405),soweadoptthemodalprotectionrateof5%astheprotectionstandardforthisexercise.

Withthisstandard,Table2summarizesthecurrentstatusofcriticalspeciesinourglobaldatabase.Overall,65.5%ofcriticalspeciesarecurrentlyprotectedand34.5%areunprotected.Withinterritorialdomains,however,unprotectedstatushasastrikinglydifferentincidence:23.9%forterrestrialspeciesbut57.4%formarinespecies.

Table2:Criticalspeciesbylocationandprotectionstatus

Location

Protected

Unprotected

Total

Protected(%)

Unprotected(%)

Terrestrial

126,265

39,677

165,942

76.1

23.9

Marine

32,549

43,923

76,472

42.6

57.4

Total

158,814

83,600

242,414

65.5

34.5

7Weformgroupsbyroundingprotectionratesuptothenearestmultipleof5.

6

Figure1:Percentofcriticalspeciesoccurrenceareainaprotectedarea

(a)Terrestrial

(b)Marine

7

4.NationalTerritorialProtectionRates

Aswenotedintheintroduction,countriesdonotconfrontthe30x30initiativeonalevelplayingfield.Somehavealmostnoterrestrialormarineprotection,whileothersalreadyhaveprotectionthatsurpasses30%oftheirterrestrialormarineareas.Inthissectionweidentifytheprotectionbaselinesforthecountriesinourdatabase.Wecalculatetheterrestrialprotectionrateforacountry

8

asthepercentofitsterritoryassignedtoanyprotectedareaidentifiedbytheWorldDatabaseofProtectedAreas(WDPA:UNEP-WCMCandIUCN(2025)).Formarineprotection,wedefineacountry’sterritoryasitsExclusiveEconomicZone(EEZ,2023).Acountry’smarineprotectionrateiscalculatedasthepercentofitsEEZassignedtoanyprotectedareadefinedbytheWDPA(2025).

Figure2tabulatescountryprotectionratesin5%categories.Countrycountsarerelativelylowintherange0-5%,highestin10%-20%,lowerfor20%-30%andsubstantiallylowerbeyondthat.Table3providesbreakdownsbyregionandWorldBankincomegroup.

9

Overall,Table3ashowsthat32countries(23.2%)alreadyhaveterrestrialprotectionratesof30%ormore.SouthernAmericaandEuropehavethehighestincidence(36.4%and36.7%,respectively),NorthernAmericaandAsiahavethelowest(0%,10.5%),andAfricaandOceaniaareintermediate(19.0%,25.0%).ForWorldBankincomegroups(Table3b),theorderingofrepresentationtrackstheorderingbyincome:low(8.3%),lowermiddle(19.5%),uppermiddle(20.0%)andhigh(36.8%).

Figure3andTable4revealmuchmoreskeweddistributionsformarineprotectionrates.Figure3showsthatthevastmajorityofcountrieshave0ornear-0protectionratesfortheirmarineterritories.Thisdisparityisreflectedinthebreakdownsbyincomeandregion.Representationforcountrieswith30+%marineprotectionratesisminimalinNorthernAmerica,AfricaandAsia(0%,6.2%,3.1%);higherinEuropeandSouthernAmerica(17.9%,12.5%)andhighestinOceania(41.7%).InTable4b,theorderingofrepresentationagaintrackstheorderingbyincome.However,theratesarelowerthanthoseforterrestrialprotection.Inthemarinecase,0%oflowandlowermiddle-incomecountrieshaveprotectionratesabove30%.Thisrisesto7.7%foruppermiddle-incomecountriesand20.7%forhigh-incomecountries.

8Wehaveconductedthisstudyforgeographicunitsidenti?edatadministrativelevel0bytheWorldBank’smostrecentlyupdatedmaponJune17,2025.Theseunitsincludenations,territoriesaffiliatedwithnations,andnon-determinedlegalstatusareas.Inthispaper,weusethecollectiveterm“countries”forexpositionalconvenience.

9Tabletotalsarenotthesameforthetwocasesbecausebothregionalidenti?ersandincomegroupidenti?ershavesomemissingvalues.

8

Figure2:Percentofnationalterritoryinprotectedareas:terrestrial

Figure3:Percentofnationalterritoryinprotectedareas:marine

9

Table3:TerrestrialprotectionratesbyregionandWorldBankincomegroup3(a)Region

Protection

Rate(%)

Row%

Region

<30

>=30

Total

<30

>=30

Africa

34

8

42

81.0

19.0

Asia

34

4

38

89.5

10.5

Europe

19

11

30

63.3

36.7

NorthernAmerica

2

0

2

100.0

0.0

Oceaniaa

3

1

4

75.0

25.0

SouthernAmericab

14

8

22

63.6

36.4

Total

106

32

138

76.8

23.2

aAustralia,NewZealandandPacificislandstates

bMexico,CentralAmerica,Caribbean,SouthAmerica

3(b)WorldBankIncomeGroup

Protection

Rate(%)

Row%

IncomeGroup

<30

>=30

Total

<30

>=30

Low

22

2

24

91.7

8.3

Lowermiddle

33

8

41

80.5

19.5

Uppermiddle

28

7

35

80.0

20.0

High

23

13

36

63.9

36.8

Total

106

30

136

77.9

22.1

10

Table4:MarineprotectionratesbyregionandWorldBankincomegroup4(a)Region

Protection

Rate(%)

Row%

Region

<30

>=30

Total

<30

>=30

Africa

30

2

32

93.8

6.2

Asia

31

1

32

96.9

3.1

Europe

23

5

28

82.1

17.9

NorthernAmerica

4

0

4

100.0

0.0

Oceaniaa

14

10

24

58.3

41.7

SouthernAmericab

35

5

40

87.5

12.5

Total

137

23

160

85.6

14.4

aAustralia,NewZealandandPacificislandstates

bMexico,CentralAmerica,Caribbean,SouthAmerica

4(b)WorldBankIncomeGroup

ProtectionRate(%)Row%

IncomeGroup<30>=30Total<30>=30

Lowincome808100.00.0

Lowermiddleincome40040100.00.0

Uppermiddleincome3633992.37.7

Highincome44115580.020.0

Total1281414290.19.9

11

5.GlobalSpeciesProtectionStatus

Table5providesanoverviewofcurrentprotectionstatusworldwide,whileTables6and7provideregionalviews.Table5displaysthenumberofcriticalspeciesbyprotectionstatusforcountriesinthreecategories.Category1countriescurrentlyprotectlessthan30%oftheirterritory,andourcalculations(presentedinthefollowingsections)indicatethattheycanremainwithinthe30%standardiftheyprotect100%oftheircurrently-unprotectedcriticalspecies.Category2countriescurrentlyprotectlessthan30%oftheirterritory,buttheywillhavetoexceedthatstandardtoprotectalloftheircriticalspecies.Category3countriescurrentlyexceedthe30%standard,andtheywillhavetoexpandfurthertoprotectalltheirspecies.

Asthetableshows,158,814criticalspeciesarecurrentlyprotected,while83,600areunprotected.Ofthelatter,63,088(75.5%)areincountriesthatcanprotectallofthemwithoutexceedingthe30%standard.TheremainingspeciesareinCategory2or3countries,whichwillhavetoexceedthe30%standardtoprotectthem.Overall,however,ourresultsarequitehopeful.InCategory1countriesalone,thecurrentandnewspeciesprotectednumber176,633,or72.9%oftotalcriticalspecies.Inaddition,Category2countriescanprotectadditionalspeciesbyincreasingterritorialprotectionto30%.Wewillreturntothisafterpresentingtheresultsofourcalculationsfornewprotectedareas.

Table5:Globalstatusofcriticalspecies

Location

Terrestrial

Protected

Unprotected

<30

<30>

>30

Total

<30

<30>

>30

Total

97,581

4,502

24,182

126,265

34,189

1,578

3,910

39,677

Marine

15,964

849

15,736

32,549

28,899

5,646

9,378

43,923

Total

113,545

5,351

39,918

158,814

63,088

7,224

13,288

83,600

Percent

71.5

3.4

25.1

100.0

75.5

8.6

15.9

100.0

Tables6and7revealsubstantialregionalvariationswithintheglobaltotals.AlmostallunprotectedterrestrialspeciesinAsia,Europe,NorthernAmerica,andOceania(99.4%,94.5%,100%,and98.7%,respectively)areinCategory1countries.However,thecorrespondingnumbersinAfricaandSouthernAmericaarelower:88.9%and54.0%.Thegreatmajorityofunprotectedmarinespeciesareincategory1countriesinAfrica(96.0%),Asia(100%),Europe(89.6%),NorthernAmerica(100%),andSouthernAmerica(80.9%).ThesituationisquitedifferentinOceania,whereonly14.5%ofcurrently-unprotectedspeciesareincategory1countries.Unfortunately,asTable7ashows,thislowpercentageinOceanialeaves12,616of15,024unprotectedmarinespecies(84%)inCategory2and3countries.

Insummary,ouroverviewprovidesagenerallyhopefulprospect.About75%ofcriticalspeciesareincountrieswheretheneededprotectedareaislessthan30%oftheterritory.

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Fortheremainingthousandsofspecies,fullprotectionwilldependonthewillingnessofCategory2and3countriestoexpandterritorialprotectionbeyond30%.Asourregionaltablesshow,thismayposeparticularchallengesinSouthernAmericaforterrestrialspeciesandOceaniaformarinespecies.

Table6:Protectionstatusofterrestrialspecies

(a)Counts

Africa

Protected

Unprotected

Total

3,783

<30

<30>

>30

Total

<30

<30>

>30

15,087

1,183

883

17,153

3,362

201

220

Asia

9,471

0

1,550

11,021

8,785

0

57

8,842

Europe

7,533

218

852

8,603

1,481

42

45

1,568

NorthernAmerica

14,026

0

0

14,026

10,176

0

0

10,176

Oceania

32,899

0

3,975

36,874

4,680

2

61

4,743

SouthernAmerica

18,565

3,101

16,922

38,588

5,705

1,333

3,527

10,565

Total

97,581

4,502

24,182

126,265

34,189

1,578

3,910

39,677

(b)Percent

ProtectedUnprotected

<30

<30>

>30

Total

<30

<30>

>30

Total

Africa

88.0

6.9

5.1

100.0

88.9

5.3

5.8

100.0

Asia

85.9

0.0

14.1

100.0

99.4

0.0

0.6

100.0

Europe

87.6

2.5

9.9

100.0

94.5

2.7

2.9

100.0

NorthernAmerica

100.0

0.0

0.0

100.0

100.0

0.0

0.0

100.0

Oceania

89.2

0.0

10.8

100.0

98.7

0.0

1.3

100.0

SouthernAmerica

48.1

8.0

43.9

100.0

54.0

12.6

33.4

100.0

Total

77.3

3.6

19.2

100.0

86.2

4.0

9.9

100.0

13

Table7:Protectionstatusofmarinespecies(a)Counts

Africa

Protected

Unprotected

Total

4,669

<30

<30>

>30

Total

<30

<30>

>30

2,952

10

228

3,190

4,483

33

153

Asia

3,636

0

2

3,638

6,857

2

1

6,860

Europe

3,