Cultural fit of institutions: A critical condition to make the 30 by 30 initiative successful

Abstract

After extensive negotiations in the last years, the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity was adopted in December 2022. Target 3 of the framework aims to elevate the global coverage of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures to a minimum of 30 per cent by the year 2030 (also called '30 x 30 initiative'). This goal is a fundamental component of the worldwide endeavour to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity. However, it is also intended to bring about advantages for both biodiversity and human society by “recognizing and respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities, including over their traditional territories” (COP 15 2022). Scientists and conservation groups have lauded the ambitious framework, however, concerns persist such as goals to tackle the drivers of biodiversity loss and the lack of legally binding measures (Gilbert 2022). Social scientists pointed out that “achieving target 3 requires new knowledge about the social implications of different scenarios by which it might be implemented. Generating this knowledge will require innovative collaboration across disciplines and sectors.” (Sandbrook et al. 2023). Other scholars mention that the social and economic impacts of the initiative need to be more considered to address social and environmental justice concerns (Schleicher et al. 2019). Reyes-García et al. (2022) emphasize in their perspective on the post-2020 Biodiversity Agenda “that transformative change requires the foregrounding of Indigenous peoples’ and local communities’ rights and agency in biodiversity policy”. This presentation introduces the concept of cultural institutional fit which can be used to assess whether the institutions regulating protected areas adequately account for the different cultural knowledge systems, values, beliefs, customs, and resource uses of the affected human actors.