Certain well-managed, biodiversity-friendly farmland can potentially qualify as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), complementing conventional protected areas and contributing to the 30x30 goal.
One of the many interlinkages between conservation and agriculture is the potential for biodiversity-friendly farmland to qualify as Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs). IUCN is investigating the possibilities in this field, including by convening a session - Exploring the potential of agricultural landscapes as OECMs – at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.
Questions being explored include how such landscapes, when delivering sustained biodiversity conservation outcomes, can complement protected areas, enhance ecosystem connectivity, and contribute to global targets such as 30x30 under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. The scoping will include practical examples, early case studies, and discussions with conservation practitioners, land managers, and policy stakeholders such as governments, IPLCs, private sector actors, and smallholder farmers.
Early results show the need to highlight enabling conditions, governance considerations, challenges specific to productive landscapes, and the recognition pathways needed for OECMs in agricultural contexts which would demonstrate how sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices can align with OECM criteria.
