Over 10% of world's oceans now under protection

More than 10% of the world's oceans have been formally designated as protected areas for the first time, according to a joint study published by the UN Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The study puts formal ocean protection coverage at 10.01%, a development described as a major achievement for ocean conservation. However, reaching the 30% target set for 2030 under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework will require the designation of an additional area roughly the size of the Indian Ocean. Global ocean and coastal coverage stood at 8.6% in 2024, with approximately 5 million square kilometers added to protected areas over the past two years.

Target reached six years late

Although countries committed under the Aichi Biodiversity Targets to protect 10% of the oceans by 2020, the milestone was only reached in April 2026 -- six years behind schedule. The 2024 Protected Planet Report, which assesses the pace of protected and conserved area designation, found that the strongest progress since 2020 has been made in the oceans, though most of it has occurred within national waters.

2030 protection commitment

Speaking to Anadolu, UN Environment Program World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) director Neville Ash said the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA) provides the official tracking mechanism for Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF), which calls for 30% of lands and waters to be within protected areas and Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (OECMs) by 2030.

Ash said UNEP-WCMC works with national governments to update data in the WDPCA on a regular basis, including digital maps of protected area boundaries, which are analyzed monthly.

"April 2026 was the first time ocean coverage exceeded 10%. Reaching the 10% milestone means the world has achieved a target that had a deadline of 2020, and means we are one third of the way towards the current ambition of 30% of the ocean to be protected by 2030," he said.

He stressed, however, that coverage alone does not tell the whole story. Protected areas must also be designated in areas that are important for biodiversity, that they are well connected to each other, and that they are well managed -- considerations that are especially important in the marine realm, where connectivity between protected areas is limited and data on their effectiveness remains scarce.

Ash noted that while national waters have relatively high coverage at 23.2%, only 1.7% of the ocean beyond national jurisdiction is within protected areas. "Expanding protected areas reduces pressures on the ocean and helps biodiversity to recover," he said.

He added that Target 3 is one of 23 targets and 4 broader goals within the Kunming-Montreal framework, and that improving the overall health of the ocean requires the full framework to be implemented -- not just an expansion of protected area coverage.

Ocean conservation can slow climate crisis

Ash outlined the role of protected areas in tackling the climate crisis, noting that healthy ocean ecosystems sequester and store carbon, reducing atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, and that measures to protect ocean ecosystem health can therefore help prevent an acceleration of climate change.

"Healthy coastal ecosystems, such as reefs and mangroves, also play an important role in reducing the impacts on coastal communities of extreme weather events associated with climate change," he said.

On expanding protected ocean areas, Ash said governments are primarily responsible for designating protected areas in their national waters -- either by creating new government-managed areas or by recognizing areas governed by Indigenous Peoples, local communities and private actors.

In areas beyond national jurisdiction, he said the biggest opportunity lies in the implementation of the new High Seas Treaty, known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), which creates a mechanism for designating marine protected areas in international waters.

*Writing by Zeynep Ozturhan