Lay of the land: terrestrial conservation efforts cover a wider area than thought

Nature, Published online: 14 October 2026; doi:10.1038/d41586-026-03081-4 Governments around the world have pledged to conserve 30% of the terrestrial realm by 2030, but official data suggest that the target is barely halfway to being met. A combined global and national-level data set now shows that up to 27% of land area is conserved, but gaps in ecological representation remain.