Not all protected areas are created equal: quality vs quantity in the quest to achieve 30 × 30

Abstract The adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework empowers signatory countries to take meaningful action in addressing the global biodiversity crisis. The framework’s first eight targets are aimed at directly reducing threats to biodiversity, with Target 3 calling for the global protection of at least 30% of terrestrial and inland water areas by 2030. We use the protected area networks to assess progress toward achieving the quantitative 30 × 30 target and ecological representation within, as well as specific elements of Targets 1, 3, 4, and 8, on ecological integrity, threatened species, species richness and climate stable areas for six signatory countries: Australia, Canada, Finland, Germany, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. We quantified the extent and degree of protection of terrestrial and inland water areas in each country and the representation of ecoregions and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) within each country’s protected area network (Target 3). We used species distribution maps to assess whether identified hotspots of threatened species and species richness were protected by the protected area networks (Target 4). We also quantified the extent to which climate-stable areas (Target 8), and large intact ecosystems (Target 1) were captured by protected area networks. Our findings revealed substantial variation in protection levels across countries. While Germany and New Zealand have exceeded their 30 × 30 commitments, Canada and Finland continue to lag behind. Levels of strict protection were particularly high in Canada, Finland, and New Zealand. While Australia, Canada, and Finland protect large areas of intact ecosystems, threatened species hotspots, species richness hotspots, and climate-stable areas were poorly represented across most protected area networks, and less than half of all ecoregions had 30% or more of their areas protected. With the 2030 deadline fast approaching, these findings highlight key gaps and provide actionable guidance to strengthen progress toward Targets 1, 3, 4, and 8.