Summary
A Nature Research Briefing reports that a combined global and national-level dataset puts terrestrial conservation coverage at up to 27%. It also says gaps in ecological representation remain.
A Nature Research Briefing published on 14 October 2026 reports that a combined global and national-level dataset puts the share of land under conservation at up to 27%—higher than current estimates. Governments have pledged to conserve 30% of the terrestrial realm by 2030, while official data suggest that the target is only about halfway met.
The briefing summarizes the study Global conservation area coverage substantially exceeds current estimates, by H. M. K. O’Neill and colleagues, published in Nature. It presents the 27% figure as an upper estimate; the supplied summary does not give a country-by-country breakdown or explain how the datasets were combined.
Land coverage is not the whole conservation picture
The higher estimate changes the picture of how much land conservation efforts cover, but the briefing also points to gaps in ecological representation. In other words, the share of land counted as conserved and how well conservation areas represent ecological diversity are separate considerations. A larger area total does not, by itself, show that ecological representation is complete.
That distinction matters when assessing progress towards a global area-based target. The briefing’s headline figure suggests conservation coverage may be closer to 30% than official data indicate, while its stated representation gaps signal that area alone does not describe all aspects of progress. The summary does not quantify those gaps, so it does not show which ecological regions account for them.