Climate change and biodiversity loss present two increasingly important challenges for modern civilization. They are also interlinked, with bidirectional feedback mechanisms and the potential for tipping points that may destabilize the Earth system, leading to unprecedented consequences for human societies.
This connection has led to recognition that the climate- and biodiversity-focused policy agendas must become intertwined to better reflect the critical role the natural world plays in climate regulation, mitigation, and adaptation.
Protected areas (PAs), crucial components of the biodiversity conservation toolbox, were originally conceived before awareness of the global, rapid, and enduring impacts of anthropogenic climate change.
As a result, the global network of PAs does not consistently account for climate change in design and management, despite recognition of its importance and notable conceptual advances in underlying design principles.
Although its impacts are not geographically uniform, climate change will likely reduce PA effectiveness, here defined as the ability to meet stated biodiversity and conservation goals now and into the future.
2019 American Association for the Advancement of Science