30% of Sea Needs Protection by 2030

To keep the planet flourishing, 30 percent of Earth needs protection by 2030. Today about eight percent of the ocean and 15 percent of land is protected.

"We’re on track to reach a global goal of protecting 10 percent of the ocean and 17 percent of the land by 2020, but world leaders need to dramatically boost ambition if we are to protect our natural resources and the people and wildlife that depend on them," said Oceana, an ocean conservation and advocacy organization.

Oceana has joined the world’s leading philanthropists and ocean conservation organizations, such as Hansjorg Wyss, the Wyss Foundation and the Wyss Campaign for Nature in encouraging world leaders to commit to protect at least 30 percent of land and sea by 2030.

As Mr. Wyss noted in his opinion piece in the New York Times announcing his support of this effort and pledging $1 billion over 10 years to help accomplish the goal: “Every one of us — citizens, philanthropists, business and government leaders — should be troubled by the enormous gap between how little of our natural world is currently protected and how much should be protected.”

"At Oceana, we are contributing to this global goal through our work to protect critical ocean habitat in Chile, the Philippines, Canada, Spain, Peru, and other countries," it said.

In Chile, Oceana celebrated a major victory when Chilean President Michelle Bachelet protected 262,000 square kilometers of ocean surrounding the Juan Fernandez Islands in a no-take marine park. Today, 12 percent3 of the country’s ocean area is within a no-take reserve.  

In the Philippines, after campaigning by Oceana and its allies, the Philippines government created a marine protected area on Benham Bank.  

In Canada, Oceana successfully advocated for an marine protected area encompassing 1,000 square kilometers of the Banc-des-Américains, a submarine bank off Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula

In Spain, after more than a decade of advocacy by Oceana and its allies, including six research expeditions, the Spanish government increased the size of Cabrera National Park from 100 to 900 square kilometers, making it the Mediterranean Sea’s second-largest marine national park.  

In Peru, Oceana is currently advocating for a new marine protected area designation to protect the Nazca Ridge.