30 by 30 – National Parks Association of NSW

China’s Redline Approach: Can Ecological Redlines provide a pathway to 30 by 30 in NSW?

Posted by NPA NSWon December 1, 2025December 1, 2025in Summer 2025Leave a comment

Joyce (Yueh) Zhang, NPA Intern

What is China’s Ecological Redline?

China’s Ecological Conservation Redline (ECR) policy includes strict “No Go” zones where development is not allowed. ECR zones cover biodiversity hotspots, key water sources, fragile soils, coastal protection, and other areas critical for national ecological security. In simple words, a red line prioritises protection of what China believes is the most important places for human wellbeing. Official data reports about 3.19 million km² of redline areas nationwide (roughly around one-third of China’s land), with 18% of China’s land covered in fully protected areas.[1] ECR is a vastly different approach to Australia’s strategy of following the Comprehensive, Adequate and Representative (CAR) model, in that it that its primary objective is not conservation, but rather ecological security and sustainable development.[2] The protection of biodiversity is a secondary benefit. Protected areas, including Nature Reserves and National Parks, are still a central pillar of China’s conservation agenda but ECR also includes unique zoning, such as Ecological Function Zones (for critical ecosystem services like water supply). Together with national biodiversity plans, China presents ECR as its model to meet the global 30×30 goal.[3]

The ‘hard yards’ needed to conserve Australia’s marine environment

Posted by NPA NSWon December 1, 2025December 1, 2025in Summer 2025Leave a comment

Dr Jonathon Howard, NPA Executive member

The Draft Australia’s Sustainable Ocean Plan was recently released for public comment. It sets out a vision to 2040. It highlights the outcomes Australia wants to achieve, and identifies opportunities for collective national action to help tackle key challenges while supporting people’s livelihoods and our growing ocean economy.

Additional national parks staff welcomed

Posted by NPA NSWon March 23, 2023in Media ReleasesLeave a comment

National Parks Association of NSW President Dr Grahame Douglas today welcomed NSW Labor’s commitment to employ an additional 100 field officers in the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

It’s time for NSW to get moving on protecting nature

Posted by NPA NSWon December 20, 2022January 25, 2023in Media ReleasesLeave a comment

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The National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) welcomes today’s announced adoption of the UN’s Global Biodiversity Framework and urges the NSW Government to get moving on creating new national parks.

Environment Minister’s decision to protect priority habitat for threatened species welcomed

Posted by NPA NSWon October 4, 2022in Media ReleasesLeave a comment

National Parks Association of NSW (NPA) applauds the Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek’s decision to create an Action Plan that will protect the habitat for threatened species and its renewed commitment to conserve a minimum of 30% of our land and sea by 2030.

The ‘30 by 30’ enironmental commitment: economic costs and benefits

Posted by NPA NSWon August 31, 2022in Spring 2022Leave a comment

Dr Ross Jeffree, NPA State Councillor

Both the current and previous Federal governments have made verbal commitments to ’30 by 30’: the effective protection and conservation of at least 30% of the planet by 2030. This national commitment is in accord with international scientific consensus that 30% is a minimum target for land, sea and freshwater to protect and conserve key biodiversity values; including species at risk, high-biodiversity areas, key migration sites, spawning areas, and ecologically intact areas which protect large-scale ecological processes. (Adding in climate refugia and areas of high carbon density increases the area required to over 50%.)

Achieving effective protection and conservation of at least 30% of the planet by 2030 is also a critical step toward achieving the CBD’s (Convention on Biological Diversity) 2050 Vision of Living in Harmony with Nature, as well as post-2020 ambitions for biodiversity. IUCN has already adopted a resolution in 2016 that calls on IUCN State Members to designate at least 30% of each marine habitat in a network of highly protected marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs; also referred to here as “conserved areas”).