As global leaders, scientists, Indigenous leaders, NGOs, and advocates gathered in Nice, France for the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) a few weeks ago, one message resonated above all: the clock is ticking. With just five years left to achieve the Global Biodiversity Framework’s (GBF) Target 3—protecting 30% of the world’s land and water by 2030—this moment demands urgent action, resources, and accountability.

At SkyTruth, we came to Nice to listen, learn, and collaborate—but also to bring a vital tool to the table: the 30×30 Progress Tracker, our open-access, data-driven platform designed to illuminate where the world stands on the path to 30×30, and where gaps persist. As declarations were made and targets reaffirmed, our mission was clear: strengthen partnerships and data to turn conservation promises into measurable, monitorable progress.

A Wave of Conservation Commitments

There was encouraging momentum on marine protection at UNOC. A record-setting 19 countries ratified the High Seas Treaty during the conference, bringing the total to 50 ratifications — just 10 short of the 60 needed for the treaty to enter into force.

This progress matters: the High Seas Treaty provides a long-awaited legal framework to protect biodiversity in the two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond national jurisdictions. Once in effect, it will open the door for the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) on the High Seas—essential for hitting the 30×30 target globally. We applaud the High Seas Alliance and first-mover governments like Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Indonesia, Micronesia, and Senegal, who have already identified critical ecosystems and biodiversity areas to be protected in the High Seas.

We are energized by the the new jurisdictional MPAs announced during UNOC:

• French Polynesia unveiled the largest MPA on Earth—nearly 5 million km²—with 23% pledged as highly protected.
• Samoa declared nine fully protected MPAs, achieving 30% national ocean protection and committing to manage 100% of its waters sustainably by 2030.
• Colombia, Chile, Tanzania, Ghana, Greece, Solomon Islands, and Curaçao all announced significant new protections or expansions.

Each of these designations is a step in the right direction. As Samoa’s Environment Minister, Toeolesulusulu Cedric Schuster, noted, “For us, ocean conservation is not only an environmental imperative, it is a cultural and existential one.”

While we celebrate these bold new commitments to ocean protection, we also recognize that declarations alone aren’t enough—they must be followed by real, verifiable action. That’s where SkyTruth’s 30×30 Progress Tracker plays a critical role.

The Tracker draws only from authoritative, vetted sources—including the World Database on Protected Areas, the Marine Protection Atlas, ProtectedSeas, and others—to provide a reliable picture of where protections exist and how strong they are. This ensures the platform reflects legally recognized and actively managed protected areas, not just political announcements.

You may not see the latest conservation headlines reflected in the Tracker immediately. That’s intentional. Protections are only added after they meet all regulatory requirements and are officially reported. By holding the line on data quality, the Tracker helps the global community distinguish between promises and progress—and apply pressure where follow-through is lagging.

Commitments Do Not Always Mean Protection

While the wave of new MPA announcements at UNOC was heartening, the question remains: is protection actually happening on the water? A new report launched ahead of the conference suggests the answer is often no—and SkyTruth data helped demonstrate this disheartening reality.

The Ocean Protection Gap: Assessing Progress toward the 30×30 Target warns that global marine protection is falling behind due to three critical shortfalls—finance, ambition, and implementation.

Despite the growing number of declared MPAs, just 8.6% of the ocean is reported as protected, and even more alarmingly, only 2.7% is assessed as effectively protected, meaning these areas have enforceable regulations and active management to prevent harmful activities. That’s a decline from last year—a worrying sign that progress may not just be stalling, but reversing.

Perhaps most shocking: in April 2025, the U.S. government rolled back fishing restrictions in the Pacific Islands National Marine Monument, slashing the global percentage of highly and fully protected ocean by 0.3% overnight. It was a vivid reminder that progress is fragile—and that without transparency and advocacy, even the strongest protections can be undone.

Working with trusted partners like MPAtlas, SkyTruth’s 30×30 Progress Tracker plays a key role in highlighting conservation effectiveness gaps by analyzing the coverage, habitats, protection level and fishing activity of marine areas globally, regionally and nationally. The Tracker shows that the majority of countries are not meeting national commitments to highly protect critical ecosystems across both land and sea, and even fewer have done so in ways that meet the GBF’s equity and governance criteria.

Equity, Inclusion, and the Path to 30×30

Achieving the 30×30 target isn’t just about how much land or ocean is protected—it’s about how we protect it and who is involved in the process. At the heart of Target 3 is a clear mandate: to ensure conservation efforts are equitably governed, rights-based, and inclusive of Indigenous Peoples and local communities.

At UNOC, Indigenous leaders were a powerful and vocal presence, reminding the world that their territories—often stewarded sustainably for generations—are essential to meeting global biodiversity goals. Their message was clear: true protection must include the knowledge, authority, and leadership of those who depend on these ecosystems the most.

One standout example is the Rapa Nui Marine Protected Area in Chile, where the creation and management plan was developed through deep collaboration with the Indigenous Rapa Nui people. While the process took years, it resulted in a far more effective and locally supported MPA—proof that inclusion strengthens outcomes.

SkyTruth’s 30×30 Progress Tracker supports this equity imperative by democratizing conservation data. The platform makes it easy for anyone—regardless of technical background—to explore how much of the ocean is truly protected and where gaps remain. Through our Conservation Builder tool, users can visualize existing protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), critical habitats, and biodiversity priorities—and even draw custom conservation scenarios to project progress toward 30×30. This functionality is especially valuable for Indigenous and local communities advocating for recognition and protection of their territories.

Looking ahead, we’re also exploring ways to integrate Indigenous and community-managed areas into the Tracker—ensuring that their contributions are visible, valued, and central to the global 30×30 effort.

What Comes Next

SkyTruth left UNOC with a renewed sense of urgency—but also with hope. The Nice Ocean Action Plan, adopted on the final day of the conference, reaffirms the global commitment to 30×30. While not legally binding, it lays out a roadmap for delivering on Target 3—including the need for increased investment, stronger monitoring, and inclusive governance.

Glaringly absent from the Ocean Action Plan and many discussions at UNOC was the impact of fossil fuels on the ocean and climate. SkyTruth supports partners like Global Gas and Oil Network, Oceana and CEED Phillipines to use data to expose the often-overlooked impacts of offshore oil and gas production, as well as the global shipping industry. If we are serious about conserving the ocean, we must also be serious about advancing a just transition away from fossil fuels.

At UNOC, we heard directly from partners in Africa, the Pacific, and Latin America who stressed the importance of transparency tools to amplify civil society and Indigenous voices. As one participant said during a side event: “Without data, it’s hard to push back. With tools like the 30×30 Tracker, we can point to the numbers—and ask the hard questions.”

As the 2030 deadlines loom, the temptation for countries to inflate numbers or declare “paper parks” will grow. It is our collective responsibility—scientists, NGOs, governments, and citizens alike—to ensure that 30×30 is more than a slogan. It must be science-based, justice-centered, and transparently tracked.

SkyTruth’s 30×30 Progress Tracker makes global, regional and national conservation data accessible, visible and interactive. The platform supports data-driven advocacy efforts and communication campaigns; provides accurate measures of conservation progress and efficacy; and ultimately, drives urgency and public accountability to protect the natural resources that we all depend on.

Now is the time to take evidence-informed conservation action! Explore and share the 30×30 Progress Tracker and Conservation Builder. Connect with the SkyTruth team if you’d like to collaborate – chelsea@skytruth.org.