There is strong support for the global 30-30 target on biodiversity, which means that one-third of the Earth's surface should be protected by 2030. This is shown in a study from the University of Gothenburg that measured public opinion in eight countries on five continents.
The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework is the international agreement on biodiversity that a majority of the world's countries adopted at the UN Biodiversity Conference COP15 in Montreal in 2022. One of the targets in the agreement is known as the "30-30 target," which stipulates that 30 percent of the world's land, oceans, and waterways should be protected by 2030, in order to preserve valuable ecosystems and reduce the extinction of species and habitats.
"It is one of the most ambitious environmental agreements ever negotiated and is sometimes called the "Paris Agreement for nature," since it carries a similar symbolic and practical weight for biodiversity as the Paris Agreement does for climate. Our research shows that there is broad support for achieving this target", says Patrik Michaelsen, postdoctoral researcher in political science.
Public opinion survey on five continents
Together with political scientists Aksel Sundström and Sverker Jagers, he investigated public support for the 30-30 target worldwide. The analyses are based on a survey conducted in Argentina, Brazil, India, Indonesia, Spain, Sweden, South Africa, and the United States in 2024. A total of just over 12,000 people from the eight countries participated in the survey.
Respondents were asked to indicate the extent to which they supported expanding protected areas both on land and at sea in their respective countries. The starting point differs somewhat, as the scope of nature protection varies between countries. In Sweden, about 15 percent of the land area is already protected, while countries such as Argentina, India, and South Africa would need to triple their protected land areas to reach the 30 percent target.
"Even though respondents were informed that increased nature protection could involve costs for certain groups, such as reduced yields for farmers, a large majority were positive toward the 30-30 target. As many as 82 percent across the eight countries supported its implementation. Support ranged from 90 percent in Brazil to 66 percent in Sweden", says Patrik Michaelsen.
Fairness is important
An experimental part of the survey also showed that the design of conservation policies affects the level of support for them. "When wealthier countries take greater responsibility for the costs of expanded nature protection, support for international cooperation increases, both in richer and less affluent countries in our study. If protection entails higher taxes, privatized management, or excluding the public from access to nature, support decreases in many countries."
The researchers also examined what people in each country considered worth protecting.
"People in general prefer that protected areas be located where natural values are greatest, rather than based on economic or social considerations", says Patrik Michaelsen.
