COP17 faces a steep climb on 30 by 30 as rights questions persist

What you need to know

• The Canadian government’s summary of the June 2026 UNEP-WCMC/IUCN database reports 18.4% of terrestrial area, including freshwater, as conserved. Of that, 17.3% is in protected areas. For marine areas, it reports 10.0% conserved, including 9.8% in protected areas. 2
• Mongabay reports a different figure, 18.7%, for land and inland waters under conservation management. The research pack notes that this and the Canadian government figure may reflect different releases, dates or definitions, so they should not be treated as directly comparable without checking the underlying data. 12
• Kwa National Park is proposed, not established. Mongabay reports that the area covers about 172,000 hectares and that the proposal is awaiting approval by Liberia’s president and subsequent legislative action. The forest is habitat for western chimpanzees, forest elephants and pygmy hippos. 14
• Liberia’s draft gazettement package records community consultations, participatory boundary work and signed consent forms. It also says communities are entitled to customary land formalisation, with that process expected to begin before gazettement was completed. These are the government project’s records, not independent verification of consent. 5
• Accounts of consent are contested. Mongabay reports that Forest Peoples Programme and SESDev want the process paused until communities can secure land deeds. The DayLight says documents and interviews challenged some claims of non-consent, while also reporting that several signatories denied signing. 145

Why this matters

The figures show the scale of the gap to the 2030 target, while Kwa illustrates that expanding protected areas involves more than drawing boundaries. Conservation decisions also raise questions about land rights, participation and consent. 125

What happens next

COP17’s first global review may inform how countries assess implementation, but the reporting does not establish what wording the summit will adopt on Indigenous and traditional territories. In Liberia, the proposed park still requires approval and legislative action, with land-tenure and consent arrangements unresolved. 135

What we know

• COP17 is taking place in Yerevan from 19 to 30 October 2026. 3
• The global coverage figures reported by the Canadian government remain below the 30% target for both terrestrial and marine areas. 2
• Kwa is a proposed protected area, and its project documents describe consultation and boundary work alongside outstanding customary-land formalisation. 15
• An Indigenous-led organisation has called for Indigenous territories and traditional conservation systems to be recognised in implementing Target 3, with land rights, participation and free, prior and informed consent protected. This is an advocacy position, not an adopted summit outcome. 1

What we don't know

• It is not yet clear what, if anything, COP17 will agree about recognising Indigenous and traditional territories under Target 3. 13
• The proposed Kwa park’s approval, enactment and eventual land-tenure and consent arrangements remain unresolved. 15
• The reporting does not establish whether all affected communities consented. The accounts and records differ, and some signatories reportedly denied signing. 45
• The sources do not explain which database release or definitions account for the difference between 18.7% and 18.4% in reported land and inland-water coverage. 12

Read the reporting

This WildNews briefing synthesises and summarises reporting from the sources below. WildNews did not produce the original reporting. Learn more about how we use AI