Marine protected area coverage
20%
of oceans
1990 2000 2010 2021 2030
10
7.9 %
2015-2021
trend
Trend
needed
to hit 30%
by 2030
582,000 square miles
Central Arctic Ocean
Fisheries Agreement
1.1 million square miles
19 other MPAs in international waters
INTERNATIONAL WATERS: 10% of MPA extent
SO
U
TH
ER
N
AT
LA
N
TI
C
AR
CTICCIRCLE
Central Arctic
Ocean Fisheries
Agreement
ARCTIC
OCEAN
ARCTIC
OCEAN
North Pole
A million species are at
risk of extinction. But 2021
provided promising news for
several at-risk species.
ON LAND, SOME
SPECIES ARE BACK
FROM THE BRINK
BY LAWSON PARKER
AND SHELLEY SPERRY
Ocean conservation has lagged behind efforts on land,
but in 2021 there were big gains near shore and at sea.
Aiding that progress was the National Geographic
Society’s Pristine Seas project, part of a global target to
protect at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030.
ILLUSTRATIONS: MATTHEW TWOMBLY; NGM MAPS. SOURCES: MARINE PROTECTION ATLAS, MARINE
CONSERVATION INSTITUTE; PRISTINE SEAS, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY; MARINEREGIONS.ORG
ACTION IN THE ARCTIC
Protections on the high seas are
a multinational challenge, but in
2021 nine nations and the European
Union began enforcing a treaty
that bans commercial fishing in
Arctic international waters for
16 years. Scientists plan to study
the region before ice melt can
lead to fishing and mining.
CAN WE GET TO 30 PERCENT?
Reaching this goal will require a variety of
solutions, including MPAs, international
treaties, and the involvement of previously
underrepresented groups. The world’s
370 million Indigenous people—who oversee
lands and waters accounting for 80 percent of
Earth’s biodiversity—are a growing influence.
Jaguar crossings
A National Geographic Explorer
captured rare video of a young
jaguar, dubbed “El Bonito,” on
the U.S.-Mexico border. Hunters
wiped out U.S. populations, but
conservation efforts in Mexico
are boosting their numbers, with
some returning to U.S. habitats.
Grasshopper sparrow soars
The most endangered bird in the
continental U.S. was also the first
sparrow successfully bred in cap-
tivity and released in the wild. The
new Florida Wildlife Corridor, sup-
ported by the National Geographic
Society, protects habitats for both
sparrows and panthers.
Cloning comeback
Elizabeth Ann was cloned from
the cells of another black-footed
ferret preserved for more than
30 years. Overseen by the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, the
cloning was the first successful
replication of a wild, endangered
species in North America.
This doubles the territory
protected from fishing in
international waters—regions
beyond country boundaries
that make up 64 percent of
the ocean’s area.