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Mobile apps for 30×30 equity

Nature Sustainability (2024)Cite this article

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In December 2022, 188 governments of the world committed to effectively and equitably conserving 30% of the Earth’s land and sea by 2030 by adopting the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework1. Conservationist groups have lauded the ambitious framework, which is widely referred to as 30×30. However, major concerns exist regarding how governments will implement the agreement and how targets will be monitored and verified2. Indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLCs), as well as agricultural groups, have voiced concerns that 30×30 will lead to inequity and associated losses of food security and economic opportunities3,4. With 40% of all protected lands inhabited by IPLCs (38 million km2 worldwide), typically having access to limited economic opportunities compared with wealthier regions of the world, the equitable and inclusive achievement of 30×30 is challenging4. Solutions are urgently needed to achieve 30×30 while respecting the rights of IPLCs2.

Building on emerging and existing technologies, opportunities now exist to combine remote-sensing products with ground truthing to monitor 30×30 targets. Public and private programmes such as NASA and Planet Labs are investing in satellites to collect data on ecosystem health and biodiversity at a global scale5. These products are combined and integrated into key metrics such as Essential Biodiversity Variables6, which are used to monitor and forecast global ecological health for 30×30 assessments. However, remote-sensing products require additional ground validation for data quality assurance, which requires on-ground data collection5. There is an untapped opportunity to engage and incentivize IPLCs globally in conservation actions through financial compensation for on-ground data collection. Therefore, we suggest the development of systems that deliver direct payments to IPLCs for ground validation of remote-sensing data via mobile applications to strengthen verification, equity and inclusivity of 30×30.

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Fig. 1: Proposed integrated system where local NGOs provide community scientists with support, training and knowledge transfer to promote inclusivity and data verification.

References

  1. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework CBD/COP/DEC/15/4 (Convention on Biological Diversity, 2022); https://www.cbd.int/doc/decisions/cop-15/cop-15-dec-04-en.pdf

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Acknowledgements

This work stems from a workshop held at Northern Arizona University in November 2022 on Remote Sensing and Conservation. We sincerely thank A. Metcalfe for her substantial contribution and edits before submission of this manuscript. We also thank additional participants in the workshop: K. Redford, B. Wiebe and M. Rose.

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Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Camille Gaillard, Jenna M. Keany.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Informatics, Computing and Cyber Systems, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Camille Gaillard, Jenna M. Keany & Jen L. Diehl

  2. Center for Ecosystem Science and Society, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Jen L. Diehl

  3. School of Earth and Sustainability, Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff, AZ, USA

    Pranay Ranjan & Duan Biggs

  4. Resilient Conservation, Centre for Planetary Health and Food Security, Griffith University, Nathan, Queensland, Australia

    Duan Biggs

  5. Centre for Sustainability Transitions, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa

    Duan Biggs

Authors
  1. Camille Gaillard
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  2. Jenna M. Keany
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  3. Jen L. Diehl
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  4. Pranay Ranjan
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  5. Duan Biggs
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Contributions

J.M.K. and C.G. co-wrote the manuscript. C.G. prepared the figure. J.M.K., C.G. and D.B. led the research. J.L.D. and P.R. conceptualized the manuscript idea and assisted in the editing process.

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Correspondence to Camille Gaillard or Jenna M. Keany.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Nature Sustainability thanks Lorette Jacobs for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

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Gaillard, C., Keany, J.M., Diehl, J.L. et al. Mobile apps for 30×30 equity. Nat Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01309-7

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