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At the UN Convention for Biodiversity��s 15^th Conference of Parties (CBD COP15) in Montreal in December 2022, countries are set to agree to a post-2020 UN biodiversity framework that sets concrete, quantifiable goals and targets for the conservation of species, ecosystems and genetic diversity in order to halt the ongoing extinction crisis.

Experts hope that this plan, known as 30x30, will contribute to reaching the long-term goals of increasing by at least 15 per cent the area, connectivity and integrity of natural ecosystems, reducing the rate of extinctions at least tenfold, and halving the risk of species extinctions across all taxonomic and functional groups by 2050.

These ambitious goals will require bold, transformational, collective action from all sectors of society. To achieve them, governments, businesses and civil society will need the ability to prioritize ecosystems, places and interventions to halt declines in biodiversity; to measure, monitor and report on progress; and to adjust strategies accordingly. Providing tools that make this possible has long been one of ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ����s key strengths, and our latest contribution, the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Global Ecosystem Typology, closes one of the major remaining gaps?-?Jane Smart, Head of ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ����s Centre for Science and Data.

At the ecosystem level, the has been instrumental in framing conservation policies, regulations, legislation and management. Twenty-five countries have applied this tool since its adoption by ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Council in 2014, mostly at a national level. The new Global Ecosystem Typology now paves the way for global Red List of Ecosystem assessments, and for neighbouring countries to place the ecosystems within their borders into a broader context for decision making.

Ecosystem inventories based on the Global Ecosystem Typology will also help to advance applications of the universally accepted ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Protected Areas categories, together with the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� standards for identification of and the , which provides a benchmark for effective area conservation.

Similarly, the Global Ecosystem Typology can be linked to tools such as the and the to provide ecosystem information for species�� status and conservation potential; and the , which helps identify geographical areas where the potential conservation gains are biggest.

Today, we are a big step closer to answering these questions. While the ecosystem typology was first published in 2020 as an ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Global Standard, the authors have now presented the full scientific basis of their work in the journal . In the paper, they demonstrate how the typology allows us to gain a deeper understanding of how different ecosystems function, providing a basis for diagnosing causes of decline and degradation, and for designing and prioritizing actions for protection and restoration.

For instance, the authors were able to draw important insights from the Typology into the expansion of artificial ecosystems such as those in the Intensive land use biome, T7.

Further, the researchers are using the Typology in combination with other databases to analyse which types of ecosystems are under particular pressure, but lack adequate formal protection:

The fact that the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Global Ecosystem Typology enables such analyses is a big step forward �C but David Keith emphasises that a lot of important work remains to be done.

The ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Ecosystem Typology is a milestone towards our ability to measure progress in conservation. It will help inform discussions about the definition and tracking of nature-positive at the ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ�� Leaders Forum in Jeju later this week as well as the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which is on the agenda in Montreal in December?- Angela Andrade, Chair of ������ϲʿ�������ֳ�ֱ����s Commission on Ecosystem Management and a co-author of the Nature paper on the Typology