The “30 by 30” biodiversity target to protect 30% of the Earth’s land and ocean by 2030 is fast approaching — and the world is far off the pace needed for success: Less than 10% of oceans and just 17.6% of land and inland waters enjoy some sort of protection. Still, 2025 saw some significant progress for land conservation. This year marked a move away from purely aspirational goals toward “more concrete planning and formal recognition in some countries and regions,” Mitchelle De Leon, chief impact officer with SkyTruth, a U.S.-based nonprofit that tracks progress toward the 30×30 goal, told Mongabay in an email. While the progress is encouraging, De Leon cautions that we must also “assess how much impact protected areas are having on land use change over time, not just how much land is designated.” Some conservation wins and announcements from 2025: Colombia creates territory to protect an uncontacted tribe In March, Colombia established a 1.1-million-hectare (2.7-million-acre) protected territory for the uncontacted Yuri-Passé people in the Amazon. The decision followed petitions from neighboring Indigenous communities who were alarmed by growing threats from mining and organized crime on the Yuri-Passé land. The new territory marks the first time the Colombian government has established a protected area specifically for people living in voluntary isolation. Colombia bans new oil and mining projects in the Amazon In November, Colombia announced it would no longer approve new oil or large-scale mining projects in the Amazon. The announcement will protect roughly 48.3 million hectares…This article was originally published on Mongabay

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