Biodiversity provides critical ecosystem services that are fundamental for all life on Earth. Yet biodiversity is being lost at unprecedented rates across the globe, with adverse impacts on the environment, human well-being and economies. Key pressures on biodiversity include land- and sea‑use change, over‑exploitation of natural resources, climate change, pollution, and invasive alien species. Halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030, as called for under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's Global Biodiversity Framework, will require scaling up policies to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity, mainstreaming biodiversity across sectors, and increasing finance for biodiversity.
Biodiversity, water and ecosystems
All life on Earth depends on biodiversity and water. Yet these invaluable natural resources are under increasing threat from multiple pressures caused by human activities. OECD analysis on biodiversity, covering both species and ecosystems, and water supports governments in developing policies that yield greater environmental benefits in a cost‑effective and inclusive way.
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Access to clean and reliable water is fundamental to achieving sustainable growth and a wide range of development goals. Pressures on water continue to mount, with rising pollution and competition over resources. The impacts of climate change primarily manifest themselves through water, resulting in too much or too little water while degraded freshwater ecosystems impact nature and our ability to adapt to climate change.
Yet, the effective and efficient management of water resources and water services remains a major challenge for many countries, including in OECD countries. We need to place water challenges at the heart of policy-making, by taking account of water-related risks, their potential financial and economic impact and the need for economies to structurally adapt to water challenges. The OECD is committed to supporting governments in their efforts to meet water challenges and reform policies that influence the availability, use and management of water. The OECD provides policy guidance on water across a range of issues set out in the OECD Council Recommendation on Water, including ensuring sustainable finance, investment and pricing for water and water services; managing water quantity; improving water quality; managing water risks and disasters; and ensuring good water governance.
The ocean covers two-thirds of the planet and is vital for human well-being. It provides invaluable ecosystem services, contributes to global food security, and offers immense opportunities for economic growth, employment and development. Our ocean is, however, under immense pressures from a wide range of human activities. These pressures will increase unless governments take bold action to ensure the sustainable use of the ocean, seas, and the protection of its marine resources.
To support government efforts to transition to a more sustainable ocean economy, the OECD is mobilising expertise across multiple policy fronts, covering environmental, economic, financial and social dimensions. Working with both developed and developing countries, the OECD aims to ensure that society can harness the benefits of the ocean on a sustainable and inclusive basis.
The global biodiversity, climate and water challenges are intertwined yet often seen as separate issues. They have common drivers, linked to human activities such as land use changes, overexploitation of resources and pollution. Traditionally, responses have been designed in isolation, poorly co-ordinated and are failing to make significant progress on addressing the crises. It is crucial for governments to integrate environmental protection within economic goals, valuing natural resources as essential for life and economic development. This calls for better aligned and coherent strategies to safeguard our planet's future, emphasising the need for cross-sector collaboration and innovative policies that reflect the interconnectedness of these global challenges.
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Biodiversity‑positive economic incentives are not being used to their full potential
Biodiversity-positive economic instruments incentivise the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity. They include biodiversity-related taxes and fees like pesticide taxes, as well as environmentally motivated subsidies, payments for ecosystem services, and tradable permits. Target 18 of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity's Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, agreed at CBD COP15, calls for countries to scale up the use of positive incentives. More than 130 countries currently contribute to the OECD database on Policy Instruments for the Environment (PINE). The figure above depicts the positive incentives that are relevant to biodiversity. The data shows that the uptake of these instruments over the last decade has been slow.
Water stress levels vary greatly between and within countries
Water withdrawals have decoupled from economic and population growth across OECD countries on average, with per capita volumes declining since 2000. However, results vary within and between countries, and the information available to assess countries’ water resources remains insufficient to carry out a more thorough analysis. The highest per capita abstractions are found in the OECD America region, followed by the OECD Asia-Oceania region and the OECD Europe region. The uses for which water is abstracted vary across countries. While some countries devote over half of withdrawals to public supply, others allocate it mostly to agriculture including Colombia, Greece, Japan, Mexico, Spain, Türkiye, or to electricity cooling such as Estonia, France, Slovenia and Poland.
Marine protected areas are growing in all OECD countries
Protected areas cover on average 22% of marine areas compared to 3% in 2000. However, the effectiveness of protection and the actual impacts on biodiversity remain difficult to evaluate, as marine protected areas (MPA) change over time: new areas are designated, boundaries are revised, and some sites may be destroyed or impacted by pressures from economic development or natural processes. The environmental performance of a given MPA depends both on the designation of the area and on management effectiveness. Only 9 OECD countries would meet and 7 would almost meet the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3 to protect 30% of its terrestrial and marine areas by 2030, highlighting the need for further policy actions to achieve these targets in the coming years.
