California 30x30
The world’s biodiversity — its plants and animals, the depth and range of species, and the habitats they live in on land and sea — is diminishing at an alarming rate. Nearly two-thirds of all wetlands and half of all rainforests are already gone and the Earth has lost 60% of its wildlife populations since 1970 and tens of thousands more are at imminent risk. Disappearing species can disrupt entire ecosystems and ultimately threaten all living things on the planet.
In response, nations are coming together in what has become known as the “30 by 30” (30x30) campaign—a global effort to protect 30% of the world's lands and waters by 2030, an amount and timeframe that scientists have determined are the minimums for arresting the biodiversity degradation.
California’s natural beauty makes it a special place to live and to enjoy the outdoors. But these natural spaces have come under threat from human activities, and it is our responsibility to protect them for the future, so future generations can continue to experience what makes California great.
Our communities have been hard hit by the devastating impacts of climate change, with challenges such as historically large wildfires destroying lives, communities, and nature. Such climate-driven disasters only amplify the threat to animals, plants, and their environments, and thus the importance of taking action. California has the widest array of animal and plant species of any state in the country; we must protect these species and their habitats or many of them will become extinct.
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California’s beautiful natural and working lands are an important tool to help slow and avert catastrophic climate change. |
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— Governor Newsom |
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By building resilience to climate change through actions like better forest management or restoration of coastal wetlands, we can protect our communities in the near-term, while creating sustainable habitats to prevent biodiversity loss.
Through an executive order announced in November 2020, Governor Gavin Newsom called for California to protect 30 percent of its lands and waters by 2030 to build resilience across our state, while putting in place climate-smart land management to achieve carbon neutrality, sustain our economy, protect food and water security, and support our unique resources.
People caring is the best guarantee for achieving 30x30 over the long-term. Governor Newsom’s executive order on 30x30 creates an important opportunity to make conservation relevant and accessible to all those who will become our planet’s future stewards, while also ensuring the enduring success of the 30x30 effort. Equitable access to safe, welcoming parks and public outdoor natural spaces is fundamental to public health and the social wellbeing of all people, regardless of race or socio-economic circumstances. Achieving it will help create a culture of natural resources stewardship that is necessary if the resources protected by 30x30 are to be cared for into the future.
