The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was adopted in 2022, setting out an ambitious pathway for nature conservation. Now, one year later, the signatory Parties need to move forward and ensure successful implementation of this international agreement. To succeed, both benefits for biodiversity and people and their interconnections will need to be considered and actively managed within mixed and sometimes contested landscapes.

In this context, the RECONNECT team published a policy brief outlining how the project can support the implementation of the GBF, in particularly Target 1 and 3. The project’s comprehensive approach to nature conservation, interlinking nature, human and institutions across various landscape contributes to a coherent understanding of landscapes and their dynamics (Target 1). Its social-ecological mapping can help to identify where protected areas should be placed in the landscape to benefit both nature and people (Target 3).

Altogether, the project will provide valuable insights and best practices on how to manage protected areas within their wider and sometimes contested landscapes – from urban to rural landscapes, and located in the global south and north – providing support for the implementation of relevant policies and legislative provisions.