Goal 15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss

Protected and restored ecosystems and the biodiversity they support can help mitigate climate change and provide increased resilience in the face of mounting human pressures and natural disasters. Healthy ecosystems also produce multiple benefits for communities that rely on them. Goal 15 focuses on preserving and sustainably using the earth’s terrestrial species and ecosystems. 

•  From 2010 to 2015, the annual net loss of forest area globally was less than half that of the 1990s. The proportion of land area covered by forest decreased from 31.6 per cent  in 1990 to 30.8 per cent in 2010 and 30.6 per cent in 2015.
•  From 2000 to 2017, average worldwide coverage of terrestrial, freshwater and mountain KBAs by protected areas increased from 35 per cent to 47 per cent, from 32 per cent to 43 per cent, and from 39 per cent to 49 per cent, respectively. 
•  Biodiversity loss, however, continues at an alarming rate. Corals, amphibians and cycads are in serious decline due to distinct and worsening threats. Bleaching, driven by climate change and local impacts, has affected the health of coral reefs worldwide, which could disappear completely by 2050. Amphibians also face a high risk of extinction, with 41 per cent already threatened.
•  Illicit poaching and trafficking of wildlife continues to thwart conservation efforts, with nearly 7,000 species of animals and plants reported in illegal trade involving 120 countries. In 2013, elephant ivory, rosewood, rhinoceros horn and reptiles comprised 70 per cent of total wildlife seizures.
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