Ocean Protection Surpasses 10% in Global Conservation Milestone

More than 10% of the world’s ocean is now protected, marking a major step toward safeguarding marine ecosystems and supporting global biodiversity targets.

“We all depend on the ocean for our survival; over half of the world’s oxygen is produced by life in the ocean,” said Neville Ash, highlighting both the achievement and the urgency to go further.

The milestone reflects rapid progress, with protected marine areas rising from 8.6% in 2024 to 10.01% today, adding around five million square kilometres, an area larger than the European Union, in just two years. Under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, countries have committed to protecting 30% of land and sea by 2030, meaning ocean protection must roughly triple within four years. However, only 1.3% of marine areas are currently under protection with formally assessed management effectiveness, and just 1.66% of the high seas, which cover over 60% of the ocean, are protected. The entry into force of the UN High Seas Treaty provides a new mechanism to expand conservation in international waters, offering a pathway to scale both coverage and quality of protection worldwide.