"Countries Fall Short of UN Pledge To Protect 10% Of The Ocean By 2020"

"A decade ago, the international community pledged to protect 10% of the ocean by the end of 2020, under the auspices of the U.N. Convention on Biological Diversity.

Despite adding new marine protected areas quickly, the international community is falling well short of that goal: only about 7.5% of the oceans is now protected, according to a generous assessment.

Even proponents of marine protected areas acknowledge they are not always as effective as they could be.

Conservationists are now pressing for the adoption of a more ambitious new international goal: protecting 30% of the oceans by 2030."

Chris Arsenault reports for Mongabay December 2, 2020.