India issues guidelines to recognise OECMs towards the 30x30 target
India released guidelines on 3 November 2026 for recognising its Other Effective Area-Based Conservation Measures (I-OECMs), at a side event of CBD COP-17 in Yerevan, Armenia. Sacred groves, community tanks and seagrass beds outside protected areas, once recognised, count towards the global 30x30 target. Recognition changes neither ownership nor legal status.
Syllabus: Prelims · Environment & Ecology; GS3 · Environment & Conservation; GS2 · International Institutions
Why this matters for UPSC
GS3 environment: biodiversity conservation, OECMs and the Kunming-Montreal 30x30 target. Prelims can ask what an OECM is; Mains, community-led conservation under the Biological Diversity Act.
Why it matters
A village that has guarded a sacred grove for generations, or a fishing community that keeps a seasonal ban, has had no way to show the world that its practice conserves nature. Under these guidelines such places can be recognised and reported globally, so their work counts in India's national tally under the 30x30 goal. Because recognition does not alter ownership, rules or daily use, the people who manage the land keep control of it. The larger question is whether conservation outside forests and parks can grow through local institutions and shared management, and not only through fences and eviction. Regular monitoring will decide whether a recognised site keeps its value or becomes a label on paper.
Prelims pointers
- Protected areas and OECMs both count towards KM-GBF Target 3; by the CBD's definition an OECM is always an area other than a protected area.
- KM-GBF Target 3 recognises indigenous and traditional territories where applicable and requires any sustainable use in conserved areas to be consistent with conservation outcomes.
- The National Biodiversity Authority is a body corporate set up by the Centre under the Biological Diversity Act, 2002, with its head office at Chennai.
- The NBA and the State Biodiversity Boards must consult Biodiversity Management Committees before deciding on the use of biological resources from a committee's area.
- Biodiversity Management Committees may levy collection fees on anyone who collects biological resources from their area for commercial purposes.
Practise a UPSC-style question
With reference to other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), consider the following statements:
1. The term was defined in 2018 by a decision of the CBD's Conference of the Parties.
2. By definition, an OECM is a category of legally designated protected area.
3. An OECM must deliver lasting, positive results for conserving biodiversity in its natural setting.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- (a) 1 and 2 only
- (b) 2 and 3 only
- (c) 1 and 3 only
- (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only
Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. An OECM is an area other than a protected area that still conserves biodiversity.
Statement 1: correct. CBD COP decision 14/8 of 2018 adopted the definition of other effective area-based conservation measures.
Statement 2: incorrect. The CBD definition calls an OECM a geographically defined area other than a protected area.
Statement 3: correct. The definition asks for lasting, positive results for conserving biodiversity in situ, where species naturally live.
Eliminate: statement 2 is surest wrong, since the very name says other than a protected area. Out: (a), (b), (d).
Trap: Look-alike names. OECMs and protected areas both count towards 30x30, so a student may merge them into one category.
Remember: OECM = conserving area that is not a protected area.
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