Agricultural production landscapes across Southeast Asia must be integrated into international conservation efforts if the global community is to reach its 2030 biodiversity targets, according to regional policy analysis. With less than four years remaining to meet the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity’s 30×30 target—which mandates protecting at least 30 per cent of land and ocean by 2030—current protected areas fall significantly short, covering only 17.6 per cent of terrestrial and inland-water biodiversity and 8.4 per cent of marine and coastal areas, as agreed under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
Expanding Nature-Positive Strategies Beyond Protected Areas
Protected areas alone cannot bridge the conservation gap, given that agriculture covers nearly 40 per cent of the world’s habitable land. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the nature-positive approach aims to reverse nature loss by 2030 to achieve full recovery by 2050. Extending this framework to farming and plantations requires halting and reversing biodiversity loss over the next five years, and fully restoring a 2020 baseline by 2050.
Palm oil production presents a major opportunity for this transition, as high-value conservation habitats like peatlands and river ecosystems frequently sit within or border plantations. By 2026, producers certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) maintained at least 27,825 hectares of conserved peatland, over 172,000 hectares of riparian buffers, and thousands of hectares of high conservation value and high carbon stock areas. These spaces function as vital wildlife corridors linking fragmented forests.
Did You Know? By 2026, producers certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil had maintained at least 27,825 hectares of conserved peatland and more than 172,000 hectares of riparian buffers.
Policy Mechanisms for Private Agricultural Landscapes
Indonesia and Malaysia produce about 85 per cent of the world’s palm oil and are currently piloting conservation plans that encompass broad landscapes, protecting rivers, peatlands, and habitats regardless of land ownership. To scale these stewardship efforts, governments could recognize conservation-managed plantation areas under the Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures framework. Companies meeting agreed conservation and no-deforestation criteria could have their lands formally recognized as OECMs and counted toward national 30×30 targets.
Rigorous implementation will require independent verification of secure long-term protection through national conservation agencies working alongside certifiers such as the RSPO. Credible designs would tie eligibility to a fixed cut-off date, phase in recognition over several years of demonstrated protection, and require publicly disclosed plantation boundaries checked against satellite deforestation data. Progress would be tracked against clear rubrics covering forest and peat cover change, species-occupancy indices, and peat water-table depth.
Expert Insight: Linking private agricultural land to national conservation targets through frameworks like OECMs demands strict, independently verified criteria to ensure private stewardship genuinely enhances biodiversity rather than masking past land clearance.
Scaling Smallholder Support and Regional Standards
Smallholders supply nearly half of Southeast Asia’s palm oil, yet most cannot absorb the compliance costs of formal assessments like corporate plantations do. For smallholders, nature-positive practices involve retaining riparian buffers, adopting integrated pest management, and replanting with agroforestry buffers supported by government-backed credit and simplified group certification under schemes like Indonesia’s ISPO and Malaysia’s MSPO. Furthermore, regional coordination through ASEAN and the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries could help establish shared standards and joint OECM accreditation panels, bringing producers in countries like Thailand and the Philippines into a unified framework.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 30×30 target?
Agreed under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, it is the goal to protect at least 30 per cent of the world’s land and ocean by 2030.
How much of the world’s habitable land does agriculture cover?
Agriculture covers nearly 40 per cent of the world’s habitable land.
What role do Indonesia and Malaysia play in palm oil production?
Indonesia and Malaysia produce about 85 per cent of the world’s palm oil and are piloting landscape-level conservation plans.
How will regional producers balance agricultural output with verifiable long-term biodiversity protection before the 2030 deadline?
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