Dear conservation biology community,
I am struggling to understand how ambitious land/water area conservation goals, such as the Unites States 30x30 (dubbed "America the Beautiful", aiming to protect 30% of land and water in the U.S. by the year 2030) can include the conservation objectives focused on people and more densely populated areas (such as providing a greater portion of the population with access to parkland and outdoor recreation opportunities). In the case of the U.S. 30x30 proposal, the 30% goal is clearly derived from conservation science recommendations (and cites the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, 2019,
https://ipbes.net/sites/default/files/2020-02/ipbes_global_assessment_report_summary_for_policymakers_en.pdf). I think it's safe to assume that greening dense urban area (and increasing certain recreational opportunities) will contribute much less to an area goal, and so effort placed there will make it more difficult to meet an already ambitious area goal. I am a strong believer in the need to correct social and environmental injustices, and in what is termed "community conservation", but I am having trouble seeing how it can successfully be integrated into goals that are area-based. President Biden's administration's preliminary report on this effort indicates that these goals will be integrated, but I am struggling to see how this will effectively be done without one or the other suffering. I thought this group might provide some good perspective and discussion- thank you in advance for your thoughts.
Nava Tabak.
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Nava Tabak
Scenic Hudson
Poughkeepsie NY
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