Bridging conservation gaps under climate change at multiple scales to protect 30% of Earth's surface by 2030.

Abstract

The 30×30 commitment outlined in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF) offers a critical opportunity for enhancing global biodiversity conservation. However, KM-GBF's efforts to address climate change impacts remain limited. We developed 1-km-resolution hotspot maps for climate change vulnerability with the exposure-sensitivity-adaptation framework, species distribution for 4 terrestrial vertebrate taxa, and carbon stock capacity including organic and biomass carbon, for 2030. Then, we developed a systematic conservation planning approach that, beyond the 3 conservation features mentioned, also considered human activities, connectivity, and Shared Socioeconomic Pathways. The plan included the identification of conservation priorities and gaps for China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations region (China-ASEAN) at regional, national, and biogeographical scales. We found that 6.59% of the land in China-ASEAN overlapped all 3 hotspots, primarily in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Cambodia. Across all 3 spatial scales, newly identified conservation priorities were concentrated in low-elevation areas, particularly between 10° S and 10° N at the regional scale. Currently, protected areas cover 15.49% of China-ASEAN's land, representing 7.00% of climate change vulnerability hotspots, 12.45% of species distribution potential hotspots, and 14.56% of carbon stock capacity hotspots for 2030. If the 30×30 commitment is realized at a regional scale, these percentages are expected to increase to 22.93%, 33.15%, and 34.75%, respectively. Areas of conservation priority identified with our framework were significantly affected by the scale of protection coordination, yet they remained stable across Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, indicating their effectiveness in diverse future scenarios. The biogeographical scale had the smallest average conservation gap for all 12 countries (13.14%). Financial challenges are highest for Indonesia at the regional scale and for Malaysia at the national and biogeographical scales. Precise conservation based on appropriate scales is essential to achieving the 30×30 commitment and maximizing its conservation effectiveness under climate change.