Enhancing climate change mitigation in protected areas

Background

Protected areas (PAs) cover roughly 15–17% of the Earth’s land surface and contain a large share of remaining intact ecosystems, many of which store high densities of carbon. With global terrestrial ecosystems absorbing about 3 GtC yr⁻¹, understanding how much of this sink is associated with PAs is important for integrating biodiversity and climate strategies. However, evidence on PA effectiveness for carbon protection, across thousands of sites and multiple biomes, is dispersed and unevenly synthesized.

Goals and Methods

This report synthesizes quantitative and qualitative evidence on the contribution of PAs to climate change mitigation and identifies strategies to enhance this role. The authors review global and regional studies that compare forest loss and degradation rates inside versus outside PAs, often over 10–20-year periods and across millions of hectares. They also analyze case studies on governance models, financing mechanisms (including REDD+ and carbon funds), and community co-management to understand conditions that support low deforestation and high carbon retention.

Conclusions and Takeaways

This synthesis indicates that, on average, PAs reduce deforestation rates by significant margins, often by 20–50% relative to comparable unprotected areas. This helps to avoid substantial CO2 emissions, ranging from tens to hundreds of MtCO2 per year at regional scales. Nevertheless, PA performance varies, with some sites experiencing “paper park” (protected area that exists in law or on maps only, but lacks effective management, enforcement, financing, or governance) conditions and others delivering strong mitigation and biodiversity outcomes under robust governance and funding. The authors recommend explicitly incorporating carbon objectives into PA planning, securing long-term financing, and strengthening rights-based, community-inclusive management to unlock additional mitigation potential, while safeguarding biodiversity and social equity.