CALIFORNIA LAUNCHES A "30x30" CONSERVATION INITIATIVE WITH A STRONG SOCIAL COMPONENT
In alignment with a global movement to conserve the world's biodiversity, the government of the U.S. state of California is launching 30x30 California, which aims to conserve 30 percent of the state's land and coastal waters by 2030.
The initiative has three objectives:
protecting California’s unique and rich biodiversity,
enhancing equity and access to nature for all Californians, and
advancing nature-based solutions and increased resilience for nature and people in the face of climate change.
The 30x30 goal has been adopted by IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and will be considered by the next Conference of Parties of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 15) in April-May 2022. It has been adopted as a national goal by the United States Government.
The social objectives of 30x30 California include connecting nature to park-poor communities, both urban and rural; increasing access points and trails within existing natural areas; incorporating programming, education, and outreach that is accessible and representative of California’s cultural diversity; and protecting California Native American tribal homelands for cultural practice.
InterEnvironment Institute and California members of the IUCN WCPA Urban Conservation Strategies Specialist Group are participating in the project.
The Institute has recommended adding human health to the objectives of 30x30 California, specifically keeping wildlife habitat as natural as possible to control emergence of zoonotic diseases, that is, diseases transmitted between other animals and humans. The key factor is disturbance of the equilibrium between certain hosts and parasites.
TED TRZYNA President, InterEnvironment Institute
Founded in 1969 and based in Claremont, California, InterEnvironment Institute is an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan public policy center. We do problem-solving research, provide advice, and produce online and print publications. Our main focus is on the natural environment, both internationally and in the United States, particularly in California. We have been an IUCN Member since 1980.
The IUCN WCPA Urban Conservation Strategies Specialist Group is part of the World Commission on Protected Areas of IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature. The Specialist Group works to strengthen the ability of conservationists to serve urban people, urban places, and urban institutions. Protected and conserved areas are a central theme. We focus on problems and opportunities that have been overlooked or neglected by others.
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