Nearly half of planet’s land in need of ‘conservation attention’ to halt biodiversity crisis

One co-author said ‘future generations will look at pictures of hummingbirds … like us looking at pictures of dinosaurs’ if conservation action was not taken. Photograph: Jose Carlos Fajardo/AP

Almost half the planet’s land surface needs extra conservation protection if the biodiversity crisis is to be halted, a major new study has found.

At least 64.7 million sq km (25 million sq miles) needs “conservation attention” but overlaps with areas where 1.8 billion people live – about a quarter of the world’s population – raising critical human rights challenges for conservationists, communities and governments.