ClientEarth Communications
25th October 2024
Nature is being destroyed at a rate like never before. Over a million plant and animal species are on the brink of extinction. WWF’s latest Living Planet report found that wildlife has dropped by 73% in 50 years. If we fail to stop the biodiversity crisis, it will have serious consequences for our global systems, with a likely breakdown of nature’s ability to provide clean air and water, food, medicines and materials, which are vital for humanity’s survival.
Since COP15 in 2022, when the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’ (GBF) was adopted, we have seen worryingly slow progress from States when it comes to making progress towards the targets that were set out.
One of the targets to come from the GBF is dubbed 30x30. It calls for 30% of terrestrial, inland water, and marine areas to be conserved through ecologically representative, interconnected, well-managed, and equitably governed systems of protected areas by 2030. This target also emphasizes the importance of recognizing Indigenous peoples' rights and incorporating their territories into broader conservation strategies.
However, a report by the Natural History Museum points out that neither the monitoring framework we have to keep track of progress made towards 30x30, nor the political debate around the issue, are placing sufficient emphasis on the quality of protected areas, or their ability to deliver effective conservation. The harsh truth is that merely encompassing 30% of the Earth in protected areas will not halt biodiversity loss if those areas do not effectively do their job.
Below are some examples of ClientEarth cases and legal actions that are directly addressing examples of nature protections not being respected by authorities, and how we’re taking action to change this, as well as what needs to be done to make sure nature protections are effective in the future.
Lake Vico, a protected nature site in northern Italy, is being wrecked by catastrophic pollution from intensive hazelnut farming in the Lazio region. This type of farming prioritises maximum productivity, which means fertilisers and pesticides are used in abundance to guarantee the largest amounts of hazelnuts are cultivated each year.
These toxic conditions, caused by massive red algal blooms, are harmful for both people and the environment.
Lake Vico is a protected nature site and a source of drinking water for local cities. The area is rich in biodiversity, and consists of many protected areas, parks and natural reserves. Its habitats and species are so important that Lake Vico is classified as a Natura 2000 site – a network of areas protected by the EU.
The intensive pollution is killing off nature and wildlife and leaving the lake’s water, which is normally used for public consumption, undrinkable.
Together with our partner Lipu-Birdlife Italy, in May 2023 we filed an appeal challenging authorities for failing to comply with EU and national laws and take steps to protect Lake Vico and the people dependent on its resources.
In October of the same year, the Italian Council of the State ruled in our favour against the Lazio region, stating that it must act to safeguard Lake Vico. However, the authorities have so far ignored the ruling, so we are appealing.
The Portuguese government was gearing up to build a new airport on the country’s most important wetland – the Tagus Estuary, home to many species of migratory birds.
The Tagus Estuary is on the path of hundreds of thousands of migratory wetland birds that congregate there for the winter or on their journey between Northern Europe and Africa. It is also protected under numerous international treaties due to its importance for these protected species.
The airport going ahead would irreversibly compromise one of Europe’s most important wetlands – as well as unavoidably generating vast amounts of carbon emissions.
Along with Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves (SPEA, BirdLife Portugal) and eight Portuguese NGOs, we launched a lawsuit to stop the airport plans.
In 2024, the Portuguese government announced it will abandon plans to build the airport, in a huge success for our case.
France currently allows highly destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling in so-called ‘protected’ marine areas in the Mediterranean, despite a Europe-wide ban.
EU law specifically bans trawling in all Mediterranean Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) hosting certain vulnerable habitats such as seagrass meadows and coral reefs.
These habitats are protected because of the vital ecosystem and climate roles they play. Seagrass, for example, is one of the biggest carbon sinks on the planet, while coral reefs and algae beds house many species that are the basis of marine food chains.
Along with BLOOM, we are filing a lawsuit in the Administrative Court of Paris to ensure that France finally complies with laws to protect the Mediterranean.
Greece has given a free pass to offshore oil and gas projects that could affect Marine Protected Areas which are home to endangered species including whales, dolphins and turtles.
These passes directly jeopardise endangered species including sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead turtles, for the benefit of fossil fuel exploration and exploitation, which exacerbate both the biodiversity and climate crises.
We submitted a complaint to the European Commission, urging them to hold Greece to account. However, the Commission has yet to take action.
In 2021, the Italian authorities approved a gas exploitation project that threatens protected dolphins and turtles in Venice’s iconic gulf.
The gas project would be built at the mouth of the Po Delta, a declared UNESCO World Heritage site – and on the border of an EU marine protected area, known as a Natura 2000 site, which was appointed to create a safe haven for some of Europe’s most important marine wildlife like bottlenose dolphins and loggerhead sea turtles.
The iconic species that call this protected area home are under threat from the fossil fuel drilling that would occur as a result of this project.
Working with Legambiente, Lipu-BirdLife Italy, WWF Italy, and Greenpeace Italy, we’re trying to cancel the Italian authorities’ decision to allow the ‘Teodorico project’ – consisting of a gas platform, wells and pipelines – to be built next to an area specifically meant to protect these precious animals.
There are a number of reasons why protected nature areas don't function effectively. Some protected areas are designed to conserve specific species or habitats, but do not prioritise overall ecosystem function and biodiversity health. Many protected areas also have lack or poor quality of management planning, inadequate size and zoning, funding and staffing shortages, inadequacy of conservation measures and poor or non-existent enforcement. And, regrettably, these issues are not sufficiently reflected in the monitoring framework we have for the 30x30 target.
Countries need to ensure that the implementation of the 30x30 target goes beyond just designating additional protected areas of nature. 2024’s COP16 marks a deadline for countries around the world to submit their revised NBSAPs – National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, which are key documents outlining how each country intends to contribute to the implementation of the framework.
As a minimum, the countries should follow scientific methodologies to drive their decision-making on which areas need to be protected, how they need to be managed, and whether any forms of legal protections or governance types would be needed in them achieving their conservation outcomes. Countries should also look beyond protected areas themselves to effectively address the human-made drivers of biodiversity loss and the pressures of ecosystem health.
That’s why we consistently leverage these legal protections to ensure that protected areas receive effective safeguards they desperately need.