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The incorporation of ecological connectivity, the unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth, into protected area design and management is critical to achieving conservation outcomes. However, the understanding and implementation of ecological connectivity in marine protected areas (MPAs) lags behind that of their terrestrial counterparts. Here, we highlight the important role of ecological connectivity in the design and management of MPA networks through an introduction to marine connectivity and the challenges and benefits of incorporating it into management. The paper also provides guidance for policy and practice, including “rules of thumb” for incorporating connectivity into MPA design and management, and case studies. MPA managers have the potential to increase the effectiveness, adaptability, and resilience of the resources under their stewardship through the purposeful incorporation of ecological connectivity into MPA design and management.

In response to recent alignment of political leadership in Canada and the United States with respect to global nature conservation imperatives, a nascent and intentional dialogue has emerged on transboundary connectivity conservation between the two countries. In February and April 2021, two meetings were remotely convened, bringing together more than 160 participants from key government agencies, non-governmental organizations and Indigenous Nations engaged in conservation in both countries. Participants generated 25 concrete ideas for key next steps and 11 broad strategies that, when considered together, comprise 11 priority policy directions. Among these, four core policy imperatives include (1) prioritizing opportunities to coordinate within and among Indigenous communities, (2) creating formalized memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and funding commitments between the US and Canada, (3) mainstreaming connectivity into sectors and society, and (4) initiating systemwide changes in governance and economic structures. Together, these policy directions represent important strategies at this crucial inflection point. Only rarely are nations given historic policy alignment opportunities to redefine and reinvigorate their common conservation goals. Particularly salient is the drive to embrace transboundary connectivity conservation as a nature-based solution to climate change adaptation. We see this dialogue as a beginning in securing the peace that defines two countries and numerous Indigenous Nations that are inextricably linked by ecology and culture.

Ecological connectivity is defined by the United Nations Convention on Migratory Species to be “[t]he unimpeded movement of species and the flow of natural processes that sustain life on Earth.” To conserve these vital links within and across ecosystems and political boundaries, scientists, policymakers, and practitioners around the world are increasing and combining their efforts to provide consistent and focused solutions. The most recent Protected Planet Report reveals that 7.84% of terrestrial protected areas are connected to each other. This remains far short of the stated target of connecting the over 17% of the planet that is now officially protected in one way or another. Much more effort is also required to maintain, enhance, and restore ecological connectivity across the matrix of human uses outside of such areas. The importance of conserving ecological connectivity to protect biodiversity, increase resilience to climate change, and provide the host of other benefits that humans receive from nature is clear and actionable as science and policy align to support the livelihoods of local communities while contributing to global environmental conservation goals.

The US Department of the Interior’s (DOI’s) Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) Network served as a national conservation framework from 2010–2017. The LCC program created 22 regional self-directed partnerships covering the entire country, each one designed to understand the threats and develop collaborative strategies to conserve natural and cultural resources important to the partners operating within their geographic scope. The establishment of the LCC program was not without some controversy, but a 2015 congressionally mandated independent review of its scientific merits reached a positive conclusion. Neverthless, funding for LCCs was ended in 2017 and most were disbanded. This paper explains the need to increase US federal support for landscape-scale, collaborative conservation, and build back a better, more durable network to meet this century’s conservation challenges.

The theory and practice of connectivity conservation have matured, and we are now at the point where intentional, landscape-scale ecological networks are poised to play an indispensable role in the drive to protect and conserve at least 30% of the earth’s lands and waters by 2030. Clearly, achieving the “30x30” goal is an urgent matter and a big step toward what nature needs. The stark conclusions of the latest IPCC report leave no doubt that the 2020s will be a decisive decade for the planet, and there is broad scientific agreement that the biodiversity and climate change emergencies must be met in tandem. For conservationists, this means scaling up both our thinking and our ambitions. While formal protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs; also referred to as “conserved areas”) form the bedrock of conservation, equally important are the connections between and among these areas. The featured theme papers in this issue of Parks Stewardship Forum explain recent advances in connectivity conservation, spelling out what has to happen to hit the 30x30 target, exploring how science and policy are aligning to support the livelihoods of local communities and human rights while contributing to global environmental conservation goals, and providing concrete examples of where and how landscape-scale conservation can be applied to meet the challenges of our time.

Protected and conserved areas must play a key role in managing the interrelated global crises of biodiversity loss and climate change. We are well past understanding the problem and the need for dramatic action is clear. The draft Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity calls for at least 30% of the land and sea to be conserved in systems of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures by 2030. This is an enormous challenge for the world and for North America. Yet the governments of Canada, the United States, and Mexico, as well as those of 60 other countries, have committed to achieving this conservation target. The “at least 30%” figure is meant to encourage ambition and must be implemented using a range of quality considerations for protected and conserved areas. This article examines what must be considered in achieving this critical target by 2030.