Catastrophic Declines in Wilderness Areas Undermine Global Environment Targets

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Environmental Science

Background:

• Terrestrial ecosystems have been altered by humans for millennia, but wilderness areas persist as crucial refugia for natural processes.
• Wilderness areas support biodiversity, carbon storage, climate regulation, and marginalized communities, yet are overlooked in environmental agreements.
• The assumption that wilderness is free from threats has led to its low priority in conservation efforts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To challenge the notion that wilderness areas are not under threat by mapping global wilderness extent changes.
• To assess the rate of wilderness loss against the increase in protected wilderness areas.
• To highlight the urgent need for international policies to recognize and protect wilderness values.

Main Methods:

• Utilized comparable maps of global wilderness based on the 'last of the wild' analysis methods.
• Examined changes in wilderness extent from the early 1990s to the present.
• Assessed the increase in protected wilderness areas over the same period.

Main Results:

• Global wilderness areas have decreased by one-tenth (3.3 million km²) over the last two decades.
• Significant losses were observed in the Amazon (30%) and central Africa (14%).
• Wilderness protection efforts are not keeping pace with the rate of loss, with protection rates nearly double the rate of loss.

Conclusions:

• Wilderness areas face unprecedented threats and are declining at an alarming rate.
• Current conservation efforts and international policies are insufficient to protect wilderness.
• Immediate, large-scale, and multifaceted actions are required, supported by international policies recognizing wilderness values.