Catastrophic Declines in Wilderness Areas Undermine Global Environment Targets
Open accessAbstract
Humans have altered terrestrial ecosystems for millennia [1], yet wilderness areas still remain as vital refugia where natural ecological and evolutionary processes operate with minimal human disturbance [2-4], underpinning key regional- and planetary-scale functions [5, 6]. Despite the myriad values of wilderness areas-as critical strongholds for endangered biodiversity [7], for carbon storage and sequestration [8], for buffering and regulating local climates [9], and for supporting many of the world's most politically and economically marginalized communities [10]-they are almost entirely ignored in multilateral environmental agreements. This is because they are assumed to be relatively free from threatening processes and therefore are not a priority for conservation efforts [11, 12]. Here we challenge this assertion using new comparable maps of global wilderness following methods established in the original "last of the wild" analysis [13] to examine the change in extent since the early 1990s. We demonstrate alarming losses comprising one-tenth (3.3 million km 2) of global wilderness areas over the last two decades, particularly in the Amazon (30%) and central Africa (14%). We assess increases in the protection of wilderness over the same time frame and show that these efforts are failing to keep pace with the rate of wilderness loss, which is nearly double the rate of protection. Our findings underscore an immediate need for international policies to recognize the vital values of wilderness and the unprecedented threats they face and to underscore urgent large-scale, multifaceted actions needed to maintain them.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
The text we found for this paper looks like another document, so the self-check wasn’t run.
Cites
Biodiversity hotspots for conservation priorities
Myers, N., Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., da Fonseca, G. A. B., & Kent, J. (2000) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35002501 · Cited by 31,710 · see citing works
A large and persistent carbon sink in the world’s forests
Pan, Y., Birdsey, R. A., Fang, J., Houghton, R., Kauppi, P. E., Kurz, W. A., Phillips, O. L., Shvidenko, A., Lewis, S. L., Canadell, J. G., et al. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1201609 · Cited by 8,458 · see citing works
Habitat fragmentation and its lasting impact on Earth’s ecosystems
Haddad, N. M., Brudvig, L. A., Clobert, J., Davies, K. F., Gonzalez, A., Holt, R. D., Lovejoy, T. E., Sexton, J. O., Austin, M. P., Collins, C. D., et al. (2015) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.1500052 · Cited by 4,773 · see citing works
Self-citationThe trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration
Steffen, W., Broadgate, W., Deutsch, L., Gaffney, O., & Ludwig, C. (2015) · The Anthropocene Review · doi:10.1177/2053019614564785 · Cited by 3,935 · see citing works
Status and Ecological Effects of the World’s Largest Carnivores
Ripple, W. J., Estes, J. A., Beschta, R. L., Wilmers, C. C., Ritchie, E. G., Hebblewhite, M., Berger, J., Elmhagen, B., Letnic, M., Nelson, M. P., et al. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1241484 · Cited by 3,667 · see citing works
The Human Footprint and the Last of the Wild
Sanderson, E. W., Jaiteh, M., Levy, M. A., Redford, K. H., Wannebo, A., & Woolmer, G. (2002) · BioScience · doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2002)052[0891:thfatl]2.0.co;2 · Cited by 2,472 · see citing works
Self-citationPrimary forests are irreplaceable for sustaining tropical biodiversity
Gibson, L., Lee, T. M., Koh, L. P., Brook, B. W., Gardner, T. A., Barlow, J., Peres, C. A., Bradshaw, C. J. A., Laurance, W. F., Lovejoy, T. E., et al. (2011) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature10425 · Cited by 2,147 · see citing works
Self-citationCarbon and Other Biogeochemical Cycles
Change, I. P. O. C. (2014) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9781107415324.015 · Cited by 2,115 · see citing works
Venter, O., Sanderson, E. W., Magrach, A., Allan, J. R., Beher, J., Jones, K. R., Possingham, H. P., Laurance, W. F., Wood, P., Fekete, B. M., et al. (2016) · Nature Communications · doi:10.1038/ncomms12558 · Cited by 1,899 · see citing works
Self-citationThe amount of carbon released from peat and forest fires in Indonesia during 1997
Page, S. E., Siegert, F., Rieley, J. O., Boehm, H.-D. V., Jaya, A., & Limin, S. (2002) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature01131 · Cited by 1,885 · see citing works
The Global 200: Priority Ecoregions for Global Conservation
Olson, D. M., & Dinerstein, E. (2002) · Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden · doi:10.2307/3298564 · Cited by 1,529 · see citing works
How will oil palm expansion affect biodiversity?
Fitzherbert, E. B., Struebig, M. J., Morel, A., Danielsen, F., Brühl, C. A., Donald, P. F., & Phalan, B. (2008) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2008.06.012 · Cited by 1,402 · see citing works
Slowing Amazon deforestation through public policy and interventions in beef and soy supply chains
Nepstad, D., McGrath, D., Stickler, C., Alencar, A., Azevedo, A., Swette, B., Bezerra, T., DiGiano, M., Shimada, J., Seroa da Motta, R., et al. (2014) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1248525 · Cited by 1,202 · see citing works
A global strategy for road building
Laurance, W. F., Clements, G. R., Sloan, S., O’Connell, C. S., Mueller, N. D., Goosem, M., Venter, O., Edwards, D. P., Phalan, B., Balmford, A. P., et al. (2014) · Nature · doi:10.1038/nature13717 · Cited by 921 · see citing works
Self-citation(2006) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511754821 · Cited by 917 · see citing works
Wilderness and biodiversity conservation
Mittermeier, R. A., Mittermeier, C. G., Brooks, T. M., Pilgrim, J. D., Konstant, W. R., da Fonseca, G. A. B., & Kormos, C. (2003) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1732458100 · Cited by 889 · see citing works
Rewilding Abandoned Landscapes in Europe
Navarro, L. M., & Pereira, H. M. (2012) · Ecosystems · doi:10.1007/s10021-012-9558-7 · Cited by 700 · see citing works
Juffe‐Bignoli, D., Burgess, N. D., Bingham, H. C., Belle, E. M. S., de Lima, M. G., Deguignet, M., Bertzky, B., Milam, A., Martínez‐López, J., Lewis, E., et al. (2021) · Issue Lab (Candid) · doi:10.34892/mkb6-7q18 · Cited by 698 · see citing works
Targeting Global Protected Area Expansion for Imperiled Biodiversity
Venter, O., Fuller, R. A., Segan, D. B., Carwardine, J., Brooks, T. M., Butchart, S. H. M., Marco, M. D., Iwamura, T., Joseph, L. N., O’Grady, D., et al. (2014) · PLoS Biology · doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1001891 · Cited by 596 · see citing works
Self-citationGorenflo, L. J., Romaine, S., Mittermeier, R. A., & Walker-Painemilla, K. (2012) · Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1073/pnas.1117511109 · Cited by 460 · see citing works
Regional climate change over eastern Amazonia caused by pasture and soybean cropland expansion
Sampaio, G., Nobre, C. A., Costa, M. H., Satyamurty, P., Soares-Filho, B. S., & Cardoso, M. (2007) · Geophysical Research Letters · doi:10.1029/2007gl030612 · Cited by 423 · see citing works
Mining and the African Environment
Edwards, D. P., Sloan, S., Weng, L., Dirks, P. H. G. M., Sayer, J. A., & Laurance, W. F. (2013) · Conservation Letters · doi:10.1111/conl.12076 · Cited by 398 · see citing works
Self-citationGlobal patterns of fragmentation and connectivity of mammalian carnivore habitat
Crooks, K. R., Burdett, C. L., Theobald, D. M., Rondinini, C., & Boitani, L. (2011) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2011.0120 · Cited by 363 · see citing works
A role for tropical forests in stabilizing atmospheric CO2
Houghton, R. A., Byers, B., & Nassikas, A. A. (2015) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate2869 · Cited by 323 · see citing works
Forest Resilience, Biodiversity, and Climate Change
Thompson, I. D., Mackey, B., McNulty, S. G., & Mosseler, A. (2009) · Cited by 276 · see citing works
Self-citationSynergisms among Fire, Land Use, and Climate Change in the Amazon
Cochrane, M. A., & Laurance, W. F. (2008) · AMBIO · doi:10.1579/0044-7447-37.7.522 · Cited by 250 · see citing works
Self-citationUrgent preservation of boreal carbon stocks and biodiversity
Bradshaw, C. J. A., Warkentin, I. G., & Sodhi, N. S. (2009) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.019 · Cited by 204 · see citing works
Policy Options for the World's Primary Forests in Multilateral Environmental Agreements
Mackey, B., DellaSala, D. A., Kormos, C., Lindenmayer, D. B., Kümpel, N. F., Zimmerman, B. L., Hugh, S., Young, V., Foley, S., Arsenis, K., et al. (2014) · Conservation Letters · doi:10.1111/conl.12120 · Cited by 202 · see citing works
Self-citationWhy We Need Megareserves in Amazonia
Peres, C. A. (2005) · Conservation Biology · doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2005.00691.x · Cited by 175 · see citing works
Intact ecosystems provide best defence against climate change
Martin, T. G., & Watson, J. E. M. (2016) · Nature Climate Change · doi:10.1038/nclimate2918 · Cited by 174 · cited 2× · see citing works
“Funding could also be used to establish payments for ecosystem service programs that recognize the direct and indirect economic benefits that wilderness areas provide, such as being a secure source of fresh water, reducing disaster risks, and storing large carbon stocks [9].”
BackgroundSelf-citationThe role of connectivity in Australian conservation
Soulé, M. E., Mackey, B., Recher, H. F., Williams, J. E., Woinarski, J. C. Z., Driscoll, D. A., Dennison, W. C., & Jones, M. E. (2004) · Pacific Conservation Biology · doi:10.1071/pc040266 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Self-citationSchwartzman, S., Boas, A. V., Ono, K. Y., Fonseca, M. G., Doblas, J., Zimmerman, B. L., Junqueira, P., Jerozolimski, A., Salazar, M., Junqueira, R. G. P., et al. (2013) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences · doi:10.1098/rstb.2012.0164 · Cited by 112 · see citing works
Walker, W., Baccini, A., Schwartzman, S., Ríos, S., Oliveira‐Miranda, M. A., Augusto, C., Ruiz, M. R., Arrasco, C. S., Ricardo, B., Smith, R. C. G., et al. (2014) · Carbon Management · doi:10.1080/17583004.2014.990680 · Cited by 104 · see citing works
Venter, O., & Koh, L. P. (2011) · Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences · doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2011.06306.x · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Self-citationWilderness and future conservation priorities in Australia
Watson, J. E. M., Fuller, R. A., Watson, A. W. T., Mackey, B., Wilson, K. A., Grantham, H. S., Turner, M. K., Klein, C. J., Carwardine, J., Joseph, L. N., et al. (2009) · Diversity and Distributions · doi:10.1111/j.1472-4642.2009.00601.x · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Self-citationWhen bigger is better: the need for Amazonian mega-reserves
Laurance, W. F. (2005) · Trends in Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1016/j.tree.2005.10.009 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Self-citationProtected areas in today's world: their values and benefits for the welfare of the planet.
Janishevski, L., Noonan-Mooney, K., Gidda, S. B., et al. (2008) · Cited by 61 · see citing works
A Computer-based Method of Wilderness Evaluation
Lesslie, R. G., Mackey, B., & Preece, K. M. (1988) · Environmental Conservation · doi:10.1017/s0376892900029362 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Self-citationConservation Planning for Biodiversity and Wilderness: A Real-World Example
Ceaușu, S., Gomes, I., & Pereira, H. M. (2015) · Environmental Management · doi:10.1007/s00267-015-0453-9 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
A Wilderness Approach under the World Heritage Convention
Kormos, C., Bertzky, B., Jaeger, T., Shi, Y., Badman, T., Hilty, J., Mackey, B., Mittermeier, R. A., Locke, H., Osipova, E., et al. (2015) · Conservation Letters · doi:10.1111/conl.12205 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
Self-citationPoints of Contact: Integrating Traditional and Scientific Knowledge for Biocultural Conservation
Mackey, B., & Claudie, D. J. (2015) · Environmental Ethics · doi:10.5840/enviroethics201537332 · Cited by 32 · see citing works
Self-citationLawson, S. (2014) · Issue Lab (Candid) · Cited by 19 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change
Díaz, S., Settele, J., Brondízio, E. S., Ngo, H. T., Agard, J., Arneth, A., Balvanera, P., Brauman, K. A., Butchart, S. H. M., Chan, K. M. A., et al. (2019) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aax3100 · Cited by 2,773 · see citing works
A spatial overview of the global importance of Indigenous lands for conservation
Garnett, S. T., Burgess, N. D., Fa, J. E., Fernández-Llamazares, Á., Molnár, Z., Robinson, C. J., Watson, J. E. M., Zander, K. K., Austin, B., Brondizio, E. S., et al. (2018) · Nature Sustainability · doi:10.1038/s41893-018-0100-6 · Cited by 1,447 · see citing works
Self-citationThe direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss
Jaureguiberry, P., Titeux, N., Wiemers, M., Bowler, D. E., Coscieme, L., Golden, A. S., Guerra, C. A., Jacob, U., Takahashi, Y., Settele, J., et al. (2022) · Science Advances · doi:10.1126/sciadv.abm9982 · Cited by 1,121 · see citing works
One-third of global protected land is under intense human pressure
Jones, K. R., Venter, O., Fuller, R. A., Allan, J. R., Maxwell, S. L., Negret, P. J., & Watson, J. E. M. (2018) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.aap9565 · Cited by 954 · see citing works
Self-citationMapping human pressures on biodiversity across the planet uncovers anthropogenic threat complexes
Bowler, D. E., Bjorkman, A. D., Dornelas, M., Myers‐Smith, I. H., Navarro, L. M., Niamir, A., Supp, S. R., Waldock, C., Winter, M., Vellend, M., et al. (2020) · People and Nature · doi:10.1002/pan3.10071 · Cited by 287 · see citing works
- Authors
- Watson, J. E. M., Shanahan, D. F., Di Marco, M., Allan, J., Laurance, W. F., Sanderson, E. W., Mackey, B., & Venter, O.
- Affiliations
- Wildlife Conservation Society (US)
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- James Cook University (AU)
- Griffith University (AU)
- University of Northern British Columbia (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Watson, James E.M.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Current Biology
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2016-11
- Volume
- 26
- Issue
- 21
- Pages
- 2929-2934
- ISSN
- 0960-9822 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2520775351
- Cited by
- 483
- References
- 42
- Citations by year
- 2026: 26 · 2025: 32 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 46 · 2022: 53 · 2021: 56 · 2020: 73 · 2019: 61 · 2018: 46 · 2017: 40 · 2016: 7
- FWCI
- 38.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Current Biology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- ResearchOnline at James Cook University (James Cook University) (submittedVersion)
- IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
- Griffith Research Online (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Keywords
- protected area expansion, biodiversity conservation, multilateral environmental agreements, Amazon, Central Africa, conservation policy, carbon storage, climate regulation
- MeSH terms
- Africa, Central, Conservation of Natural Resources, South America, Ecosystem, Wilderness, Environmental Policy
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
