The “30 by 30” biodiversity target to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and ocean by 2030 is fast approaching — and the world is far off the pace needed for success: Less than 10% of oceans and just 17.6% of land and inland waters enjoy some sort of protection.
Still, 2025 saw some significant progress for land conservation. This year marked a move away from purely aspirational goals toward “more concrete planning and formal recognition in some countries and regions,” Mitchelle De Leon, chief impact officer with SkyTruth, a U.S.-based nonprofit that tracks progress toward the 30×30 goal, told Mongabay in an email.
While the progress is encouraging, De Leon cautions that we must also “assess how much impact protected areas are having on land use change over time, not just how much land is designated.”
Some conservation wins and announcements from 2025:
Colombia creates territory to protect an uncontacted tribe
In March, Colombia established a 1.1-million-hectare (2.7-million-acre) protected territory for the uncontacted Yuri-Passé people in the Amazon. The decision followed petitions from neighboring Indigenous communities who were alarmed by growing threats from mining and organized crime on the Yuri-Passé land. The new territory marks the first time the Colombian government has established a protected area specifically for people living in voluntary isolation.
Colombia bans new oil and mining projects in the Amazon
In November, Colombia announced it would no longer approve new oil or large-scale mining projects in the Amazon. The announcement will protect roughly 48.3 million hectares (119 million acres) of the Amazon from future extraction.
Australia reveals plans for a koala reserve
In October, the Australian state of New South Wales announced plans to finally establish a 475,000-hectare (1.1-million-acre) reserve that connects existing protected areas with a state park to protect roughly 12,000 koalas and many other threatened species. Just eight months before the announcement, Mongabay reported that the area was still being logged.
Suriname pledges to conserve 90% of its rainforest
In September, Suriname pledged to protect roughly 90% of its rainforests by creating new protected areas and demarcating Indigenous territories. In November, Mongabay interviewed Suriname President Jennifer Geerlings-Simons to understand how she plans to balance development and finance with her conservation goals.
Indigenous land recognition gains momentum at COP30
At the U.N. climate summit in the Brazilian city of Belém in November, the governments of nine tropical forest countries pledged to recognize roughly 160 million hectares (395 million acres) of Indigenous lands over the next five years. Indigenous and other traditional communities steward more than 1.3 billion hectares (3.2 billion acres) of land worldwide, but just 11% is formally recognized.
The summit also saw the launch of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, a fund that aims to pay tropical countries to keep their forests standing. Observers have, however, raised concerns about how TFFF is structured.
Banner image: Part of the proposed the Great Koala National Park. Image courtesy of Paul Hilton/Earth Tree Images.
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