This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: The world is falling short of its biodiversity commitments because nature is still treated as an afterthought in decisions about housing, infrastructure, agriculture, energy, mining and conservation, according to a new UNSW report. Associate Professor Hedley Grantham, from UNSW's Centre for Ecosystem Science, says better planning is needed to close the gap between Australia's global biodiversity commitments and what is happening on the ground.
Grantham and 20 international co-authors outline the approach in a paper published in Nature Reviews Biodiversity. A new global assessment released ahead of COP17 warns that fewer than half of the 23 targets assessed under the Kunming–Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework are on track. No target presents a fully positive picture, and governments are not moving fast enough to meet the framework's 2030 goals.
"Australia has signed up to these targets but is not on track to meet them," says Grantham. "Nor are we using all the tools we have available. Biodiversity needs to be considered early in planning decisions, using the best available evidence.
"This isn't about creating another layer of planning red tape. It's about making existing processes work together." Australia adopted the Kunming–Montreal Framework in 2022 but did not include a stand-alone national planning target in its own strategy. The approach, known as biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, or BISP, would make nature-positive design a basic part of planning from the beginning, rather than something retrofitted onto projects after the key decisions have already been made.
"BISP is critical because biodiversity conservation depends not only on protected areas, but on the thousands of development decisions made across our landscapes and seascapes," says Grantham. "If biodiversity is not considered in those decisions, global conservation targets will remain out of reach." Australia already has many of the tools needed to make better decisions, including biodiversity mapping, marine zoning, protected-area planning and bioregional approaches, but does not use them in a consistent way. "Embedding biodiversity in planning can help turn global commitments into practical decisions." Grantham recommends bringing existing conservation, restoration and sustainable-use plans together in a coordinated spatial planning framework aligned with global commitments.
"Better information helps governments find solutions that deliver economic benefits while reducing unnecessary environmental harm," says Grantham. Grantham et al., Biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning underpins the achievement of global biodiversity targets, Nature Reviews Biodiversity (2026). DOI: 10.1038/s44358-026-00212-7 Journal information: Nature Reviews Biodiversity Provided by University of New South Wales Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019.
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