Closing Window of Opportunity: Mapping Threats to Important Areas for Conservation in Pantropics Report Released

Posted 23 Oct 2024

2 min read

Unveiled at Convention on Biological Diversity COP16 in Cali (Colombia), it maps alarming overlap of oil, gas, and mining concessions with Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) across Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia.

These regions store vast amounts of carbon, playing vital role in regulating global climate and sustaining life on Earth.

Key Findings

518 KBAs (or 18% of KBAs by area) in pantropics are under active and potential oil and gas concessions.
Oil and gas blocks overlap with 14% of KBAs and 12% of Indigenous Territories by area in Amazon.
Over 180 million hectares of high-integrity forests are either undergoing or have planned fossil fuel extraction projects across pantropics.

About KBAs

KBA are sites of global importance to planet’s overall health and persistence of biodiversity.
Sites qualify as global KBAs if they meet one or more of 11 criteria, clustered into five higher-level categories i.e.
- Threatened biodiversity; Geographically restricted biodiversity; Ecological integrity, Biological processes, and Irreplaceability.

Challenges in protecting KBAs

Competing interests between conservation and resource extraction such as growing demand for minerals which are used in renewable energy technologies. E.g. Nickel Mining
Unprotected KBAs are vulnerable to degradation from spillover effects associated with infrastructure development for oil, gas, and mining projects.

Recommendations

Provide Indigenous peoples with resources and authority for self-governance while respecting their sovereignty over traditional territories.
Implement and enforce legal frameworks to stop new resource extraction in protected areas and phase out existing operations.
Limit green energy resource extraction to non-critical habitats with strict environmental standards, protecting vital ecosystems.