Target 01: Spatial planning

Generated: 2026-04-17T21:51:22Z

Landscape

51 of 69 countries explicitly address GBF Target 1; the remaining 18 engage it through environmental impact assessment reform, corridor planning, or sectoral mainstreaming. The dominant pattern across regions is embedding biodiversity requirements into existing spatial planning instruments — territorial ordering plans, structure plans, development permits — rather than creating standalone biodiversity-spatial frameworks. Marine spatial planning appears as a distinct and growing sub-theme, with Denmark, Canada, the Netherlands, Malaysia, and the Marshall Islands maintaining separate marine planning structures, legal instruments, and timelines. Language on indigenous peoples' and local communities' rights appears across all regions, from general participation principles to legally specific free, prior and informed consent requirements. The 'all areas' formulation of GBF Target 1 is operationalized variably: some countries adopt it as a universal coverage commitment, others set percentage thresholds, and others express it as a degradation-rate reduction target.

Variation

Countries differ markedly in how they quantify and instrument their Target 1 commitments.

Germany expresses its spatial planning commitment as a daily rate: "By 2030, the daily increase in land used for settlements and transport infrastructure ('land take') will be reduced to less than 30 hectares per day. By 2050, the aim is to achieve circular land-use management (net zero land take)." The current rate stood at approximately 52 hectares per day in 2024. Indonesia sets four cumulative 2030 indicators: 94.38 million hectares of natural ecosystems identified and mapped (from 64.75 million in 2022), 110.06 million hectares of high-biodiversity-value areas retained for protected functions within spatial planning (from 80.34 million in 2022), 80.35 percent of national area validated through Strategic Environmental Assessment (from 67.25 percent in 2023), and 58.38 million hectares with ecosystem threat status identified — with a further horizon extending to 2045. Colombia identifies the inclusion of biodiversity and climate adaptation criteria in territorial ordering plans in 155 municipalities covering 19 million hectares, at "a total cost of 17,825 million pesos at 2024 values." Yemen commits to 20 percent coverage of areas of environmental importance by 2030 and 100 percent of all land by 2050. Chad sets a degradation-rate target, committing to reduce habitat depletion from 2.5 percent per year to 1.5 percent per year by 2030 through spatial plans integrating biodiversity. Most countries adopt qualitative or 'close to zero' language.

Legal instrument maturity produces a second axis of variation. China and Norway anchor their commitments in long-established planning law — ecological conservation red lines and the Planning and Building Act, respectively. Suriname and Namibia each identify the absence of a spatial planning law or policy as the primary deliverable; Suriname's draft Spatial Planning Law has been in development since 2018. Togo and the Democratic Republic of Congo each have national territorial planning schemes underway but not yet operational. Switzerland frames its spatial planning commitment as a review mandate because questions from the first action plan remain unresolved.

Marine spatial planning tracks diverge from terrestrial planning in both instrument type and governance structure. Denmark's Agreement on a Maritime Spatial Plan, adopted by all parties in the Danish Parliament in June 2023 and revised in 2024, plans protection for more than 30 percent of the marine area, with strictly protected areas rising "from 4 per cent to 6 per cent in the revised plan, 8 per cent in 2028, and 10 per cent by 2030." Canada is advancing four first-generation marine spatial plans across five bioregions. The Netherlands established the Nature Strengthening of the North Sea programme in 2024 "with a budget of EUR 150 million." Many African and landlocked countries address terrestrial planning without a marine track; the Marshall Islands uses the Reimaanlok community-based framework as its delivery mechanism for both atoll and exclusive economic zone areas.

Planning instrument types vary widely: some countries work through national land use plans or Plans Nationaux d'Affectation des Terres (Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo, Gabon, Togo); others through green infrastructure strategies (Spain, Belgium, Hungary, Luxembourg, Czech Republic); others through ecological conservation red lines or conservation priority area frameworks (China, Indonesia); and others through Strategic Environmental Assessment requirements (Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Rwanda).

Standouts

Germany's commitment quantifies spatial planning targets in daily area terms: "By 2030, the daily increase in land used for settlements and transport infrastructure ('land take') will be reduced to less than 30 hectares per day. By 2050, the aim is to achieve circular land-use management (net zero land take)." This formulation, with its measurable current rate and explicit 2050 net-zero land-use horizon, has no direct equivalent in the dataset.

Brazil embeds rights requirements in the national target text itself: "This effort must also ensure Free, Prior and Informed Consultation (FPIC), in accordance with ILO Convention 169, as well as the recognition, demarcation, and protection of territories belonging to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (as per Decrees No. 6.040/2007, 8.750/2016, and 7.747/2012)." The target extends the spatial planning obligation further — to "family farmers, peasants, and agrarian reform beneficiaries (as per Law No. 8.629/1993)" — a scope not present in GBF language or in any other national target in the set.

Vanuatu's national target text names a planning category with no equivalent in the GBF or in the rest of the dataset: "By 2030, Vanuatu will develop and implement national spatial plans for marine, inland water, and terrestrial areas that integrate land use, areas of kastom importance, key biodiversity areas, and freshwater catchments." Kastom denotes customary land tenure and authority in Vanuatu. Province-by-province implementation plans covering Sanma, Malampa, Tafea, and others give this category operational specificity at the sub-national level.

Bhutan grounds the extension of planning beyond its Protected Area Network — which already covers over 52 percent of total land area — in a single empirical finding: "the 2024 National Tiger Survey recorded a higher number of tigers outside protected areas than within, underscoring the need to broaden conservation beyond current boundaries."

Analysis

The 'all areas' obligation fractures along an instrument-maturity axis. Countries with established spatial planning systems — Germany, the Netherlands, Denmark — attach biodiversity requirements to an existing regulatory surface: permit conditions, sectoral assessments, all-party parliamentary agreements. Countries that are building that surface from scratch — Suriname, Namibia, Nigeria — treat the planning framework itself as the primary deliverable, a prior condition for any biodiversity outcome rather than a channel for delivering one. The distinction shapes what can be monitored: a country without a land-use planning policy cannot yet report on planning coverage.

Marine spatial planning is emerging as a structurally distinct commitment within Target 1 rather than a subset of terrestrial planning. Denmark's all-party Maritime Spatial Plan, Canada's four first-generation marine plans, and the Netherlands' dedicated North Sea programme each carry separate legal instruments, governance bodies, and timelines — suggesting that marine and terrestrial planning tracks are diverging institutionally rather than converging under a single biodiversity-inclusive framework.

The rights-of-communities clause in GBF Target 1 is operationalized at very different levels of legal specificity across the set. Brazil's national target text cites three specific decrees and ILO Convention 169 in the target language itself; Vanuatu names 'areas of kastom importance' as a recognized spatial category; Canada notes legally binding regional plans in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. At the other end of the range, several NBSAPs reference participation as a principle without grounding it in a legal instrument. The difference matters for distinguishing consultation obligations from consent requirements.

Several NBSAPs contain formal self-assessments of documented gaps in their own planning systems. Norway cites evaluations — EVAPLAN 2018 and the Nature Risk Commission (NOU 2024:2) — "finding that biodiversity is not adequately safeguarded in local planning and that total impacts of land use changes are not captured," and defines area neutrality as "net zero loss of nature with physical loss of natural land compensated through restoration." Namibia diagnoses the absence of a land-use planning policy and identifies that Integrated Regional Land Use Plans face "challenges around the legal status and enforceability of the IRLUP framework, the gap between plan development and implementation at regional and local levels, and the absence of coverage of freshwater ecosystems," making policy finalisation the primary deliverable under Programme 24. Switzerland frames its spatial planning commitment as a review mandate because questions from the first action plan remain unresolved. This pattern of self-assessment appears across both high-income and lower-income country groups.

Per-country detail

Ordered by classification (explicitly_addresses → relevant_to → not_identified) then alphabetically by country name.

Country	National Target	Summary
Afghanistan	Afghanistan will undertake biodiversity-inclusive land-use planning in all protected areas and their buffer zones to ensure no further loss in ecosystems of high ecological integrity. Planning elsewhere in the country will be opportunistic.	The NBSAP commits Afghanistan to biodiversity-inclusive land-use planning in all protected areas and their buffer zones to ensure no further loss in ecosystems of high ecological integrity. Planning elsewhere in the country is described as opportunistic. Action 1.1 calls for inclusion of land-use planning in management plans for all protected areas, with MAIL as the responsible entity and NEPA as cooperator, to be completed between 2025 and 2030. Action 1.2 calls for spatial planning to be undertaken opportunistically throughout the remainder of the country with significant biodiversity values, with no quantitative target or fixed timeline proposed. The headline indicators are the Red List of Ecosystems, extent of natural ecosystems, and percent of land covered by biodiversity-inclusive spatial plans. Portfolio #1 further elaborates governance actions including land reform, enforcement of land management law, enactment of rangeland and protected area regulations, enhanced EIA capacity, and development of criteria for OECMs.
Argentina	By 2030, the loss or reduction of areas of importance for biodiversity tends towards zero, understood as: protected areas, conserved areas, areas under restoration, areas with conservation potential, areas of sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities, and other areas of importance; which shall be included within a general framework of environmental territorial management in accordance with the provisions of the General Environmental Law (Ley General del Ambiente, Law No. 25,675).	National Target 1 states that by 2030, the loss or reduction of areas of importance for biodiversity (AIBs) is to tend towards zero. The target defines AIBs as encompassing protected areas, conserved areas, areas under restoration, areas with conservation potential, and areas of sustainable use by indigenous peoples and local communities, all to be included within a general framework of environmental territorial management in accordance with the General Environmental Law (Ley General del Ambiente, Law No. 25,675). The strategy's Axis 1 sets specific objectives for territorial planning: promoting strategic territorial planning at regional and local scales with participatory design that integrates scientific, technical, and traditional knowledge (Objective 1.2.A.1); incorporating the ecoregional approach into conservation and sustainable use actions (1.2.A.2); and promoting environmental land-use planning instruments implemented at the municipal level with local community participation (1.2.A.3). Planning is to account for Protected Area management categories harmonised with IUCN classifications, the native forest territorial planning categories under Law 26,331, other conservation area designations, and spatial designs generating synergy among categories in the form of conservation corridors. As a baseline for spatial planning, 11 national-level studies identifying AIBs were compiled during the NBSAP update. Together, the compiled AIBs cover 1,221,119.8 km² (27.65% of national territory excluding Antarctica), of which 58.3% is continental surface and 41.7% marine. Ecoregional analysis reveals that the Atlantic Forest, South Atlantic Islands, Iberá Wetlands, and Campos and Malezales ecoregions have over 50% of their surfaces identified as AIBs, while Monte Plains and Plateaus and Espinal have less than 15%. The geospatial data are to be made available through the Integrated Environmental Information System (SInIA). Production-sector planning is also addressed: Objective 4.2.B.1 calls for environmental land-use planning in aquaculture based on ecological and productive capacity assessments, and Objective 4.1.B.7 promotes land-use reconversion in heavily degraded regions.
Belgium		The NBSAP addresses spatial planning for biodiversity through multiple operational objectives under Objective 3. Operational objective 3.1 calls for at least 17 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas to be conserved through well-connected systems of protected areas integrated into wider landscapes. The Strategy defines green infrastructure as a strategically planned network of natural and semi-natural areas addressing spatial structure, including green roofs and trails in both rural and urban settings. It states that land use planning should seek to limit land conversion for urban, industrial, agricultural, transport, or tourism purposes, which induces drainage of wet ecosystems and habitat destruction, degradation, and fragmentation. The ecological network concept aims to merge fragmented nature and forest reserves into larger interconnected units, composed of core areas connected by buffer and corridor zones including hedgerows, ditches, field margins, and small streams. Small landscape elements are identified as playing a key role in ensuring connectivity, and their conservation and rehabilitation is to be promoted. The Strategy further states that measures taken within frameworks for sustainable use and sectoral integration should take green infrastructure elements into account.
Brazil	Ensure that the entire national territory— continental, coastal, and oceanic—is covered by a participatory, integrated, and ecosystem-based spatial planning and territorial management process that addresses climate change and changes in the use of land, inland waters, and oceans. This process should promote the sustainable use and occupation of the territory, ensuring that it remains healthy, biodiverse, resilient, safe, and productive, while taking into account existing vulnerabilities and potentialities. So that the loss of important areas for biodiversity, sociobiodiversity, and ecosystem services are as close to zero as possible by 2030, in line with the Priority Areas and Actions for the Conservation, Sustainable Use, and Benefit-Sharing of Brazilian Biodiversity. This effort must also ensure Free, Prior and Informed Consultation (FPIC), in accordance with ILO Convention 169, as well as the recognition, demarcation, and protection of territories belonging to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (as per Decrees No. 6.040/2007, 8.750/2016, and 7.747/2012), and to family farmers, peasants, and agrarian reform beneficiaries (as per Law No. 8.629/1993).	The NBSAP establishes National Target 1A, which commits to ensuring the entire national territory — continental, coastal, and oceanic — is covered by a participatory, integrated, and ecosystem-based spatial planning and territorial management process. The target addresses climate change and changes in the use of land, inland waters, and oceans, aiming to bring the loss of areas important for biodiversity, sociobiodiversity, and ecosystem services as close to zero as possible by 2030, in line with the Priority Areas and Actions for the Conservation, Sustainable Use, and Benefit-Sharing of Brazilian Biodiversity. The target explicitly requires Free, Prior and Informed Consultation (FPIC) in accordance with ILO Convention 169, and mandates the recognition, demarcation, and protection of territories belonging to Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (per Decrees No. 6,040/2007, 8,750/2016, and 7,747/2012) and family farmers, peasants, and agrarian reform beneficiaries (per Law No. 8,629/1993). Synergies are identified with Marine Spatial Planning under the UN Ocean Decade and the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, as well as SDGs 14.2, 15.1, 15.2, 15.5, and 15.9. The NBSAP also addresses spatial planning at the subnational level. State and Local Biodiversity Plans (EPAEBs and EPALBs) are presented as instruments to integrate biodiversity protection into local-level sectoral policies, including land use, urban development, agriculture, transport, and resource management. The establishment of Marine Spatial Planning (PEM) as a national policy through Decree No. 12,491 of 5 June 2025 formalises MSP as a strategic tool to organise marine use. The Interinstitutional Working Group for Marine Spatial Planning (GTPEM) was established by Ministerial Ordinance GM/MMA No. 1,150 of September 2024.
Bhutan	By 2030, plan and manage all areas to reduce biodiversity loss	Bhutan's National Target 1 states: "By 2030, plan and manage all areas to reduce biodiversity loss," aligned with KMGBF Targets 1 and 3. The rationale notes that the Protected Area Network covers over 52% of the country's total land area, but that the 2024 National Tiger Survey recorded a higher number of tigers outside protected areas than within, underscoring the need to broaden conservation beyond current boundaries. The NBSAP identifies three strategies: accelerating comprehensive land-use zoning, strengthening knowledge of biodiversity in ecologically important areas, and enhancing management of such areas. Specific actions include updating parameterization in the National Land Use Zoning (NLUZ) system to prioritize biodiversity conservation areas, developing guidelines for the protection of prime traditional paddy fields to ensure wetland and agrobiodiversity conservation, assessing biodiversity in biological corridors and freshwater ecosystems, updating and incorporating spatial biodiversity data into the NLUZ, updating or developing management plans for protected areas and OECMs, implementing those plans, assessing management effectiveness using METT+, instituting river rangers and SMART patrolling for freshwater biodiversity, developing management plans for key agrobiodiversity sites, conducting a nationwide water resource inventory, and developing at least one river basin management plan.
Belarus	Integration of the function of biological diversity conservation into integrated spatial planning schemes of the Republic of Belarus, ensuring that the threat of loss of natural ecosystems and sites of high value for the conservation of biological diversity is minimised, and that the ecological integrity and connectivity of natural ecosystems are maintained.	The strategy's objective 1 is explicitly mapped to KMGBF Target 1 and commits to the integration of biological diversity conservation into integrated spatial planning schemes of the Republic of Belarus, ensuring that the threat of loss of natural ecosystems and sites of high value for the conservation of biological diversity is minimised, and that the ecological integrity and connectivity of natural ecosystems are maintained. The problems chapter documents the pressures motivating this objective: the area of land under roads, transport infrastructure, common-use and built-up lands increased from 888,400 hectares to 1,053,200 hectares (an 18.5 per cent increase) between 2015 and 2025, contributing to the degradation and fragmentation of natural habitats. The National Action Plan includes a specific measure (item 38) requiring the incorporation of wildlife mortality prevention measures into pre-design and design documentation for the construction and reconstruction of national and local motor roads (2026–2030), assigned to the Ministry of Transport and oblast executive committees.
Canada		Canada's 2030 Strategy addresses Target 1 through marine spatial planning (MSP), land-use planning, and integrated sector-based conservation frameworks. Preliminary internal federal estimates indicate that at least 60% of Canada's land and freshwater area and 30% of its marine area are covered by some form of spatial planning, though not all existing plans meet the participatory, integrated, biodiversity-inclusive standard set by Target 1. In the marine environment, DFO, in collaboration with ECCC, NRCan, PC and TC, is advancing MSP in the Pacific North Coast, Southern British Columbia, Scotian Shelf-Bay of Fundy, Newfoundland and Labrador Shelves, and the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, with four first-generation marine spatial plans or frameworks to be developed by the end of 2024. Under the Pan-Canadian Approach to Transforming Species at Risk Conservation in Canada, ECCC is advancing Strategic Conservation Frameworks for the agriculture, forestry, and urban development sectors; the draft Agriculture Sector framework sets objectives for reducing land conversion in agricultural landscapes. ECCC is working with KBA Canada to identify and finalize terrestrial, freshwater, and marine Key Biodiversity Areas and maintain the KBA Canada Registry. The federal government commits to defining areas of high biodiversity importance and publishing maps of them, and to reinforcing the value of spatial planning in areas of land and freshwater under federal jurisdiction. The strategy recognizes that provincial and territorial leadership is essential in the terrestrial environment, with the federal government and Indigenous Peoples playing a supporting role. Environmental data systems supporting spatial planning include the State of Canada's Oceans and State of Canada's Forests reports, the Canada Marine Planning Atlas, the Canadian Terrestrial Ecological Framework, the National Deforestation Monitoring System, and the RADARSAT Constellation Mission.
Democratic Republic of the Congo	By 2030, all priority areas are subject to participatory, integrated and biodiversity-respectful spatial planning that respects the rights of Indigenous Pygmy Peoples and local communities, are effectively managed using land-use planning tools, within the framework of changes in the designation of terrestrial and aquatic spaces, to reduce the loss of areas of high importance for biodiversity, including ecosystems with high ecological integrity and representative of the country's different ecological regions, to a level close to zero.	Objective 1 commits the DRC to participatory, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning covering all priority areas by 2030, with the explicit aim of bringing the loss of high-biodiversity areas close to zero. The NBSAP aligns this objective with the National Land-Use Plan (PNAT) and structures implementation in five phases: diagnostic mapping, participatory zoning, legal designation, operational management, and monitoring. It recognises rights of Indigenous Pygmy Peoples and local communities as a precondition for any zoning decision. The estimated budget is USD 7.5 million over the plan period.
Republic of the Congo	Target 1/1: By 2030 at the latest, identify areas of biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, are brought to a level close to zero with a view to their participatory and integrated spatial planning to manage them effectively within the process of land and sea use change while respecting the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples (CLPA).	The NBSAP sets National Target 1/1 to identify areas of biodiversity importance — including ecosystems of high ecological integrity — by 2030 through participatory and integrated spatial planning, while respecting the rights of local communities and indigenous peoples (CLPA/IPLC). Result A1O1R1 groups four actions: establishing a consultation framework among ministries involved in spatial planning and land management (deadline 2025, budget 15 million FCFA); updating the Law on protected species and Order 60-75 (2026, 10 million FCFA); developing the National Land Allocation Plan (Plan national d'affectation des terres, PNAT) (2026, 50 million FCFA); and documenting the conservation status of species through inventory reports, the IUCN Red List, and measures of peatland and forest area (2026, 100 million FCFA). Financing is attributed to the Government. Implementation is assigned to the ministries responsible for the environment, forests, public domain, scientific research, spatial planning, agriculture, mining, hydrocarbons, justice and human rights, education and the interior, with local authorities. The Ministry responsible for Spatial Planning is identified as the central institution for designing national spatial planning plans, assessing territorial potential in natural resources and monitoring the rational use of national space. The National Forestry Policy 2014–2025 lists 'land-use planning and establishment of a permanent forest estate' as a founding pillar.
Switzerland		The NBSAP identifies land use as the main driver of biodiversity decline in Switzerland and frames GBF Target 1 under SBS Objective 1. The action plan notes that cantons must plan the networking of natural habitats valuable for biodiversity by end of 2024, but questions remain regarding transposition of this ecological infrastructure into spatial planning instruments, particularly cantonal structure plans. A question from the first action plan (AP SBS I) concerning the desirability of a formal conception under Article 13 of the Spatial Planning Act remains unresolved. Review mandate E1, assigned to the Federal Office for Spatial Development (ARE), addresses this gap. By 2026, the needs of the cantons — in particular cantonal spatial planning services — for targeted integration of biodiversity into spatial planning are to be defined. By 2030, Switzerland is to have updated bases and documents enabling federal, cantonal, and municipal actors to integrate biodiversity into spatial planning instruments at different levels. Partners include the Conference of Cantonal Directors (DTAP), the Swiss Conference of Cantonal Spatial Planners (COSAC), and the Conference of Delegates for the Protection of Nature and Landscape (CDPNP).
Chile	By 2030, all regions have ecological planning.	The NBSAP establishes national target I.10, which requires all regions to have ecological planning by 2030. This target sits within Objective I, which seeks to consolidate regional ecological planning instruments as part of its broader agenda to protect, conserve and restore biodiversity. The strategy identifies integrating biodiversity into territorial planning as one of several priority areas for reducing biodiversity loss (§25). The Annex 3 instrument mapping (§62) links GBF Target 1 to five instruments: the National Territorial Planning Policy, the National Rural Development Policy, the National Urban Development Policy, the Escazu Agreement, and the Ramsar Convention. The NBS framing of Objective I explicitly lists GBF Target 1 ("Subject all areas to planning and management to reduce biodiversity loss") among the global targets it addresses.
Cameroon	Achieve participatory, integrated and inclusive spatial planning of the national territory and ensure the integration of biodiversity into the processes of land allocation, development and management at the national, regional and local levels, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.	The NBSAP identifies Cameroon's National Land Use Plan (Plan National d'Affectation des Terres, 2021) as a strategic instrument for organising the allocation of national space between different uses. The NLUP is described as integrating national land use mapping, territorial planning, and environmental considerations, and contributing to the conservation of natural ecosystems and ecological corridors, the limitation of critical habitat conversion, and the promotion of biodiversity-friendly spatial planning. The National Climate Change Adaptation Plan further integrates ecosystem protection as a cross-cutting component, including recommendations to integrate climate risk analysis into land use planning. The action plan establishes Objective 15: "Achieve participatory, integrated and inclusive spatial planning of the national territory and ensure the integration of biodiversity into the processes of land allocation, development and management at the national, regional and local levels, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities." This objective is operationalised through three actions. Action 15.1 calls for strengthening the legal and policy framework for spatial planning by integrating ecological connectivity into spatial development. Activity 15.1.1 targets an increase from approximately 3 to 5 spatial development plans integrating biodiversity to at least 30 such plans, developed through participatory and inclusive processes. Activity 15.1.2 calls for developing spatial development plans and environmental and social management plans for five terrestrial and two marine protected areas, raising the total from 18 to 25 protected areas with complete plans by 2030. Activity 15.1.4 promotes regional and local development plans (SRADDT/PLADDT/PSG) that integrate restoration measures and sustainable practices in the cocoa sector, targeting at least 50 plans up from approximately 10 to 15. Action 15.2 institutes biodiversity management plans within Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, targeting at least 40 SEAs integrating such plans (from approximately 0 to 5 at baseline). A national guide for producing biodiversity plans is also to be developed and disseminated. Action 15.3 addresses operationalisation of biodiversity governance tools through international and subregional commitments.
China	By 2030, important ecological spaces shall be effectively protected, the authenticity and integrity of natural ecosystems shall be maintained, and degradation of important ecosystems and loss of habitats shall be basically curbed.	The NBSAP dedicates Priority Action 7 to ecological space protection, requiring that biodiversity conservation be incorporated as an important component of territorial spatial planning. The strategy calls for optimising the pattern of territorial space development and protection, strictly maintaining ecological conservation red lines, and strengthening management and control of human activities within those red lines. The plan requires establishing differentiated ecological and environmental access lists aligned with territorial spatial planning zoning and land use control requirements. Biodiversity impact assessment is to be incorporated into management requirements for large-scale engineering construction and resource development projects, with whole-process oversight covering pre-project, in-project, and post-project stages. For biodiversity conservation priority areas, the NBSAP calls for optimising and adjusting terrestrial priority areas (32 priority areas already cover approximately 28.8% of national territory) and completing the delineation of marine and coastal biodiversity conservation priority areas. The marine ecological security pattern is to be improved, with strict maintenance of the mainland natural shoreline retention rate baseline. Dynamic monitoring, conservation effectiveness assessments, and ecological and environmental oversight of ecological conservation red lines are specified. The 2030 target states that important ecological spaces shall be effectively protected, the authenticity and integrity of natural ecosystems shall be maintained, and degradation of important ecosystems and loss of habitats shall be basically curbed.
Colombia	National Target 1. Participatory planning: indicator is the number of hectares with loss of ecological integrity, included in a participatory manner as determinants of territorial ordering with biodiversity and climate adaptation criteria, in planning instruments, for decision-making in territorial management.	The NBSAP (Colombia's Biodiversity Action Plan to 2030) frames spatial planning under Commitment 1 (Cross-sectoral integration and coherence for territorial biodiversity management and climate action, as determinants of planning and territorial ordering) and under National Target 1 (Participatory planning). The Commitment presents territory as a functional unit configured by socio-ecological dynamics rather than administrative limits, and engages agricultural, mining-energy, industry, tourism and housing sectors in moving from static planning to a forward-looking vision that positions environmental determinants, aligns plans with biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation/adaptation, and incorporates participation schemes such as those of PDET (Programas de Desarrollo con Enfoque Territorial) municipalities. Planning indicator coverage is reported via Conpes 4058 of 2021 (IGAC indicator on territorial characterisation incorporating climate variability) and Conpes 4098 of 2022 (Ministry of Agriculture, DNP and UPRA on productive land-use plans). The costing chapter quantifies the headline indicator for Target 1 as the number of hectares with loss of ecological integrity included as determinants of territorial ordering: the inclusion of biodiversity in POT (territorial ordering plans) and in municipal development plans has an average cost of 65 million pesos per municipality, with a total cost of 17,825 million pesos at 2024 values to reach the 2030 target in 155 municipalities covering 19 million hectares. Additional Target 1 indicators identified include change in land use and tenure in indigenous and local community territories (baseline not yet available; CNTI as source), extent of natural ecosystems measured as the Variation in Natural Ecosystem Surface Area (VSEN) with a cost of 7,000 million pesos through 2030 led by IDEAM using the MEC ecosystem map and the Land Cover Map, the Red List Index of Ecosystems (estimated at 4,900 million pesos over seven years, led by IAvH), and the municipal disaster risk index adjusted for capacities (source DNP). In the national-level prioritisation of the 191 actions in the Action Plan, Targets 7 and 1 were prioritised. The Plan proposes that the Intersectoral Commission on Climate Change be reorganised into a Comisión Intersectorial de Cambio Climático y Biodiversidad (CICCyB) so that participatory planning, ecosystem integrity and other biodiversity working groups are integrated with climate governance.
Czechia		The Strategy identifies landscape fragmentation, intensive land use, and isolation of biologically valuable areas as key pressures on biodiversity. It commits to integrating protected areas into spatial planning in larger territorial units, ensuring landscape permeability, and protecting biologically valuable areas and species habitats through spatial planning instruments. Action Objective 1.1 develops a methodological framework for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), including preparation of methodologies, barrier analysis, legislative change proposals, and involvement of private entities. Action Objective 1.2 focuses on restoring and increasing landscape connectivity, with measures to ensure spatial analysis data is taken into account in landscape-use planning, particularly for strategically important infrastructure and habitats of large mammals and specially protected species. Action Objective 1.3 addresses green infrastructure through the Territorial System of Ecological Stability (ÚSES), significant landscape features (VKP), and ecologically significant features, with a measure (1.3.7) to ensure systematic incorporation of green infrastructure into spatial planning documentation as part of the recodification of spatial planning. The Strategy also commits to harmonising consideration of biodiversity on publicly owned land around linear structures, watercourses, buildings, and state and municipal forests, and to removing obstacles to biodiversity support in comprehensive land consolidation processes.
Germany	By 2030, the daily increase in land used for settlements and transport infrastructure ("land take") will be reduced to less than 30 hectares per day. By 2050, the aim is to achieve circular land-use management (net zero land take).	The NBS 2030 addresses spatial planning primarily through its target on reducing land take (Target 4.2). The strategy sets a goal of reducing the daily increase in land used for settlements and transport infrastructure to less than 30 hectares per day by 2030, down from approximately 52 hectares per day in 2024, with net-zero land take by 2050 through circular land-use management. Circular land-use management comprises planning, use, discontinuation, lying fallow, and revival cycles. Spatial planning is also addressed through the biotope network target (Target 2.3), which calls for a functioning cross-regional biotope network on at least 15% of Germany's land area by 2030. Section 21(4) of the Federal Nature Conservation Act requires core areas, ecological corridors, and connective elements to be given legal protection. Spatial planning at the federal state and regional levels and transport infrastructure planning are identified as particularly important for legally securing the biotope network. The strategy recognises competing uses of land as a cross-cutting challenge, noting that the expansion of renewables is leading to increased land demand compared with former centralised energy systems. The National Restoration Plan, a requirement of the EU Nature Restoration Regulation with a first draft due to the European Commission by 2026, is expected to provide key specifications for shaping agricultural landscapes.
Denmark		The NBSAP frames spatial planning through two parallel instruments covering land and sea. On land, the Agreement on a Green Denmark establishes that at least 20 per cent of Denmark's total area is to become protected nature, and 15 per cent of the existing agricultural area is expected to change use by 2030, including removal of 140,000 hectares of carbon-rich soils and establishment of 250,000 hectares of new forest by 2045. The government has reported to the EU a provisional contribution of 15 per cent protected land area. At sea, the Agreement on a Maritime Spatial Plan (June 2023) provides a spatial framework adopted by all parties in the Danish Parliament. The revised plan (June 2024) is valid for ten years and plans protection for more than 30 per cent of the marine area, with strictly protected areas rising from 4 per cent to 6 per cent in the revised plan, 8 per cent in 2028, and 10 per cent by 2030. Restrictions in strictly protected areas include bans on fishing (including bottom trawling), raw material extraction, disposal of dredge soil, and renewable energy installations. Fisheries management integrates spatial planning through the EU Common Fisheries Policy, applied on the principle of maximum sustainable yield. The coastal fisheries scheme reserves quotas for coastal fisheries and grants larger quotas for fisheries using low-impact gear that does not affect the seabed. A state-owned nature-friendly coastal fishery label was launched in 2021.
Egypt		The NBSAP devotes a dedicated Annex 1 sequence to spatial planning and a main-text chapter (Section 18). It calls for a study of the current status of spatial planning to identify gaps in the integration of biodiversity and to measure how far environmental issues are incorporated at local and national levels. The strategy commits to developing new policies or amending existing ones so that land-use plans integrate biodiversity concerns and identify high-priority areas such as nature reserves and areas rich in biodiversity. It names the Ministries of Environment, Housing, Agriculture, and Petroleum and Mineral Resources as bodies whose coordination must be formalised, with mechanisms linking central government and local authorities. The NBSAP states that awareness-raising and training campaigns will be organised for policy-makers and local communities to build commitment to biodiversity conservation in the planning process. Monitoring systems relying on Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and remote sensing are to be established to track land-use change and its impact on biodiversity, with periodic evaluation of spatial-planning policies. Financial and human resources are to be provided for scientific research, capacity development, awareness-raising, and continuous training, alongside efforts to attract international funding. The strategy identifies developing new cities in desert areas (the New Administrative Capital, New Alamein City), rehabilitating informal areas, protecting agricultural land from urban encroachment, and enhancing connectivity between regions as the principal spatial-planning strategies. Challenges cited include rapid population growth, haphazard urban sprawl, climate change affecting coastal areas, and limited basic infrastructure outside major cities.
Spain		The NBSAP addresses biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning primarily through the National Strategy for Green Infrastructure and Ecological Connectivity and Restoration (Order PCM/735/2021). Public administrations are to assess and identify elements of the territory providing value for ecosystem services, biodiversity, and ecological connectivity. By 2024, the planned date for approval of regional strategies, green infrastructure elements of the territory are to be identified. From 2023 to 2030, development of green infrastructure in Spain and its integration at the European level is planned, with full implementation targeted by 2050. The General State Administration is to implement the strategy through successive three-year work programmes. The NBSAP also identifies land use change as a major pressure on biodiversity, noting direct habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation from agriculture, urbanisation, infrastructure, mining, energy developments, and forestry plantations. The growing implementation of renewable energy projects, especially solar, is noted as a land use change that can be significant depending on type and accumulation. The Spanish Urban Agenda and Green Infrastructure Strategy together frame measures for integrating biodiversity into urban and peri-urban spatial planning, including promoting green and blue infrastructure connecting urban green spaces with surrounding natural areas.
Gabon		The NBSAP identifies spatial planning as its first national target under Axis 1. Gabon has a National Land Use Plan (Plan National d'Affectation des Terres, NLAP) in an active phase of implementation and coordination, with a legal and institutional framework in place. The responsible stakeholders include the Ministry of Planning, Land Use Planning, INC, ANPN, AGEOS, MAT, ANINF, and the Ministry of Water and Forests. The 35 Key Biodiversity Areas identified across Gabon serve as a strategic tool to guide territorial planning and the expansion of protected area networks. These KBA sites, covering 111,432 km² (24% of terrestrial and oceanic territory), are described as an optimal instrument for mainstreaming biodiversity across governmental stakeholders' planning efforts, in accordance with the KMGBF objectives.
United Kingdom	The UK will ensure that all areas are under participatory, integrated and biodiversity inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land- and sea-use change, to bring the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.	The NBSAP sets UK target 1, committing to participatory, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and/or management processes addressing land- and sea-use change across all areas, with the goal of bringing the loss of areas of high biodiversity importance, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, close to zero by 2030. The target includes a footnote clarifying that the UK does not have indigenous peoples or indigenous and local communities as understood under the CBD, but remains committed in its international engagements to promoting their effective participation and inclusion.
Equatorial Guinea	By 2030, ensure that all areas are subject to participatory and integrated spatial planning covering at least 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, respecting the rights of local and indigenous communities.	National Target 1 commits Equatorial Guinea, by 2030, to ensure participatory and integrated spatial planning covering at least 30% of terrestrial and marine ecosystems, respecting the rights of local and indigenous communities. Implementation conditions listed in the ENPADIB 2025–2030 include preparation and implementation of the National Territorial Planning Plan (Plan de Ordenamiento Territorial, POT), strengthening of capacities in strategic planning and rural development, approval and implementation of the Cadastre and Land Planning Act (Ley de Catastro y Ordenamiento de Tierras), and updating of the Water and Coastal Regulation Act and its Regulations. The Gender Action Plan's Territorial Planning table sets a target that by 2030 at least 25% of the country's cities will have territorial planning plans, and that at least 30% of agricultural land be used under sustainable production systems. A specific Department of Territorial Planning has already prepared a specific law in the promulgation phase. Alignment with global Target 1 is rated HIGH; headline indicator is the percentage of land and ocean covered by spatial plans that integrate biodiversity.
Hungary		The NBSAP addresses spatial planning through the National Ecological Network, which covers 36% of Hungary's territory and consists of core areas, ecological corridors, and buffer zones. Hungary's National Land Use Plan defines land use rules at county and municipal levels for the different ecological network zones. The green infrastructure concept examines ecological condition, spatial connectivity, and ecosystem services in a holistic, territory- and sector-neutral approach, seeking to manage vegetated areas and aquatic ecosystems as a whole rather than focusing on individual sectors or areas. Target 1.2 of the strategy commits to improving the connectivity of protected areas by identifying development objectives and intervention areas for green infrastructure, enhancing the ecological network, and ensuring through regulatory instruments that green corridors and ecological connectivity are fully maintained during construction or development projects. Target 15.1 calls for developing methodology and data provision for delineating green infrastructure elements, identifying agricultural areas where farmers can implement green infrastructure developments that take landscape character into account, and elaborating green infrastructure development plans at national and regional scale.
Indonesia	National Target 1 (TN 1): The integration of high biodiversity value areas and ecosystem protection into landscape and seascape spatial planning.	The IBSAP 2025-2045 frames spatial planning under Strategy 1.1 (Inclusive Spatial Planning and Effective Management) and National Target 1 (TN 1): The Integration of High Biodiversity Value Areas and Ecosystem Protection into Landscape and Seascape Spatial Planning, operationalising Government Regulation Number 13 of 2017 on National Spatial Planning (RTRWN) and the Strategic Environmental Assessment (KLHS) instrument mandated by Government Regulation Number 46 of 2016. TN 1 is measured by four indicators with cumulative 2030 targets: 94.38 million hectares of natural ecosystems on land, inland waters, and coastal-marine areas identified and mapped (from 64.75 million in 2022); 110.06 million hectares of high biodiversity value (ABKT) retained for protected functions within spatial planning (from 80.34 million in 2022); 80.35 percent of area covered by National Spatial Planning validated through KLHS (from 67.25 percent in 2022); and 58.38 million hectares of high biodiversity value areas with ecosystem threat status identified. The 2045 horizon targets 167.50 million hectares mapped and 154.64 million hectares retained for protected functions. TN 1 is delivered through ten action groups covering identification and assessment of high biodiversity value areas; planning of protected forest and land, coastal and marine, and geological areas; preservation area planning in cultivation zones; land-sea spatial plan integration; planning of traditional, customary and local community areas as protected functions; National Strategic Area planning from an environmental function perspective; quality improvement of spatial-plan implementation considering biodiversity values; monitoring and control; law enforcement; and forest cover management. Lead entities are the Ministry of Environment/BPLH, Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut), Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP), Ministry of Agrarian Affairs and Spatial Planning/National Land Agency (ATR/BPN), Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Ministry of Public Works, Ministry of Home Affairs, Geospatial Information Agency (BIG), BRIN and provincial and regency/municipal governments. Mainstreaming into sub-national planning is illustrated by the 2020 State Capital Nusantara (IKN) Master Plan in East Kalimantan, where the KLHS identified 140 families with 1,967 tree species and 33 protected wild animal species and led to mapped go/no-go zones (including Balikpapan Bay), avoidance of mangrove and forest clearing, and artificial wildlife corridors such as canopies and wildlife signs under Ministerial Regulation Number 23 of 2019. By 2022 the National Spatial Plan had allocated at least 30 percent of Indonesia's area for protective functions, and designated protected areas reached 80.59 million hectares.
India		India's NBSAP establishes National Biodiversity Target 1 on spatial planning through a monitoring framework that tracks the reflection of biodiversity in policy decisions, planning processes, and ecosystem services reporting (indicator 1.1). The framework monitors changes in area of riverine and coastal ecosystems and wetlands (1.2), the number of wetlands brought under integrated management plans (1.3), the extent of shifting cultivation on 10-year, 5-year, and 3-year cycles (1.4), trends in finalising Integrated Coastal Zone Management plans for priority sensitive ecosystems facing anthropogenic pressure (1.5), and trends in preparing management plans for Critically Vulnerable Coastal Areas to reduce anthropogenic pressure (1.6). The Protected Area Representativeness and Connectedness (PARC-Connectedness) index serves as a component indicator, while forest area as a proportion of total land area and the proportion of transboundary basin area with an operational water cooperation arrangement serve as complementary indicators. Lead agencies include the Forest Survey of India, National Remote Sensing Centre, Indian Institute of Forest Management, and National Centre for Coastal Research, with monitoring on a 2-year cycle.
Iran	Halting the anthropogenic extinction caused by land- and sea-use changes of Iran's living species by 2030 through a participatory approach incorporating traditional knowledge of native, pastoralists, and nomadic tribes in conservation efforts, considering IUCN-protected areas and PA areas.	NT-1 commits to halting anthropogenic extinction caused by land- and sea-use changes by 2030 through a participatory approach incorporating traditional knowledge of villagers, pastoralists, and nomadic tribes. The NBSAP calls for developing a national data warehouse and Spatial Data Infrastructure for Iran's biodiversity by 2030, with reasonable access for all stakeholders. It specifies launching an online portal to document and access biodiversity information incorporating input from local communities. Spatial planning measures include compiling Red Data Books for plants, fungi, invertebrates, and vertebrates; completing the list of invasive alien species; and developing an integrated plan for de-extinction and restoration of endangered species. The strategy also proposes designating highland glaciers as new protected areas to reduce climate change impacts, increasing the scope of natural-national monuments from 4,000 metres altitude to lower altitudes, protecting habitat corridors of charismatic species such as the Iranian leopard, and combining traditional and new methods for sustainable water resources management in habitats and protected areas. Collaboration with neighbouring countries is envisaged for regional species diversity protection and establishing Transboundary Biosphere Reserves.
Iceland	That by 2030, the authorities shall have implemented the discussion of biological diversity using the methodology of the ecosystem approach in all decision-making and policy-making regarding land use and planning.	The NBSAP establishes Guiding Principle C with the objective that by 2030, authorities will have integrated consideration of biological diversity, using the ecosystem approach methodology, into all decision-making and policymaking concerning land use and planning. Section C1 identifies planning schemes as one of the most important instruments for ensuring that land use is organised with regard to biodiversity, in both urban and rural areas and in marine and coastal areas. The policy calls for strengthening the discussion of biological diversity in environmental impact assessments and formulating a clearer framework for biodiversity considerations in that process, looking to international models. Authorities responsible for planning and environmental assessment are directed to strengthen the component of biological diversity in these governance instruments. The National Planning Strategy 2024–2038 is referenced as having three main priorities including protection of the environment and nature, covering the central highlands, rural areas, urban areas, and marine and coastal areas. Actions where biodiversity is a key factor include guidelines on planning in rural areas, guidelines on planning for wind energy utilisation, classification of landscape types, mapping of arable land, and actions relating to coastal area planning. The Land and Life (Land og líf) land reclamation plan and national forestry plan to 2031 is also cited as containing clear targets and actions for land use. The Water Management Plan 2022–2027 and Regional Development Plan 2022–2036 both contain biodiversity-relevant provisions for land use planning.
Japan — National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan 2023–2030	Action-oriented target 1-1: Promote land use that contributes to biodiversity conservation and sustainable use through ensuring connectivity of ecosystems at land and sea.	The NBSAP addresses spatial planning through Basic Strategy 1 (ecosystem integrity) and the 30by30 Roadmap. The strategy sets a national goal of conserving at least 30% of terrestrial and marine areas by 2030, up from 20.5% terrestrial and 13.3% marine coverage as of the plan's adoption. The government commits to integrating biodiversity into land- and sea-use planning through the National Spatial Strategy, regional and municipal plans, and sector-specific plans for forests, agriculture, rivers, coasts, and ports. Mapping of biodiversity-rich areas (including areas of high ecological importance outside protected areas) will underpin siting decisions for development, including renewable energy. Action-oriented target 1-1 commits to promote integrated land and sea use planning that secures connectivity of ecosystems and incorporates biodiversity considerations into spatial decisions at national, prefectural, and municipal levels.
Lebanon		The NBSAP's National Action Plan opens with a spatial-planning block under Headline Indicator 1.1, adopting as a national indicator the percentage of land and sea area covered by biodiversity-inclusive spatial plans, with the MoE, CDR, MoPWT, DGUP and CNRS designated as responsible agencies and reporting set at five-year intervals with interim updates every two to three years. National Action 1.1 commits the government to establish criteria for identifying and mapping areas under sustainable forestry, fisheries, artificial reefs, grazing and agriculture as well as areas in need of sustainable management, tracked by a binary national indicator with methodology identified as ready. Further actions cover the development of a Marine Spatial Plan (NA 1.4) and the identification of marine areas of high biodiversity importance outside protected areas, disseminating existing forest and rangeland management guidelines and training at least 30 technicians from the Ministry of Agriculture, NGOs and municipalities (NA 1.8), and mapping changes in land cover, land use and Marine Spatial Plans to track anthropogenic pressures on adjacent ecosystems (NA 1.9). Capacity-development needs identified include training policymakers and urban planners on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, drafting national guidelines, strengthening GIS and remote-sensing capacity, and establishing participatory planning with local communities.
Luxembourg		The NBSAP requires that ecological connectivity be systematically taken into account within assessment, authorisation, and spatial planning procedures (§22). At identified bottlenecks of forest corridors and within inter-urban green zones and green breaks defined by the Sectoral Master Plan 'Landscapes' (Plan directeur sectoriel « paysages »), transport or urbanisation projects are to be omitted, and planning and construction of six major priority wildlife-crossing structures, together with several additional structures, are to be initiated by 2026 under an interministerial working group (§22). For urban and peri-urban areas, the strategy calls for the systematic integration of green infrastructure and nature-based solutions into urban planning, including public spaces, infrastructure, and building design (§26). It sets quantitative targets: no net loss of urban green spaces or tree canopy cover by 2030 compared to 2021; a 3% increase in total urban green space area by 2040 and 5% by 2050; and a minimum of 10% urban tree canopy cover in all cities, suburbs, and villages by 2050, with an intermediate target of 5.6% by 2030 (§26). Urban ecological network plans are to be developed for at least 50% of municipalities by 2026 (§34). The strategy addresses soil artificialisation as a driver of biodiversity decline, emphasising the need to limit sealing through sustainable soil management practices in urbanisation and spatial planning, including the adoption of riparian buffer strips and anti-erosion strips (§27). Luxembourg has initiated a revision of soil protection legislation covering both preventive protection and remediation of polluted sites (§27). At the governance level, an Interministerial Committee for Nature Protection (CIPN) is to be created, bringing together ministries responsible for finance, economy, agriculture, urban planning, infrastructure, spatial planning, and education, to coordinate the holistic integration of nature protection into other domains and sectors (§38). Awareness-raising efforts target the integration of biodiversity into sectoral policies including spatial planning, rural development, and tourism (§56).
Marshall Islands		The NBSAP designates sub-target 1.1 for physical spatial planning of atoll, island, lagoon, reef, and EEZ areas to control habitat alteration. The primary delivery mechanisms are PAN, EEZ spatial data, and Reimaanlok Steps 1–3. The headline indicator 1.1 (Biodiversity Spatial Plans) tracks the percent of land and sea covered by biodiversity-inclusive spatial plans, encompassing all areas covered by Reimaanlok as well as offshore areas managed for biodiversity. Additional headline indicators A.1 (Red List of Ecosystems) and A.2 (Extent of Natural Ecosystems) track ecosystem condition. MIMRA and MoNRC serve as data leads. The NBSAP integrates biodiversity risk screening, environmental safeguards criteria, and environmental permitting requirements into urban planning, shoreline development, and infrastructure project design through Action 83. The Forest Action Plan (Action 71) calls for compiling land-based ecosystem information to determine headline indicator A.2 ahead of the 8th National Report. Offshore mapping through the E/V Nautilus expedition (Action 79) is also intended to complement nearshore ecosystem information for this indicator.
Mauritania — National Biodiversity Strategy 2022–2030		The NBSAP commits to integrating biodiversity into spatial planning through several concrete actions. Action A.2.3 calls for integrating biodiversity considerations into urban policy, with a target of 100% of terrestrial and marine areas covered by spatial planning plans that integrate biodiversity by 2030. Action B.1.4 requires integrating biodiversity spatial planning into regional master plans for urban development, targeting 3 integrated plans by 2028. The strategy identifies infrastructure and urbanisation as one of five priority economic sectors, recommending the adoption of green infrastructure and ecological urban planning to address habitat fragmentation caused by transport and infrastructure expansion.
Malta		The NBSAP addresses spatial planning through three actions under its national Target 5. Action 5.1 commits to revising policy on spatial planning, including marine spatial planning and integrated coastal zone management, to strengthen alignment with the National Strategy for the Environment and NBSAP objectives. Action 5.2 requires the assessment of potential adverse effects of projects, operations, and activities on biodiversity through Environmental Impact Assessments (EIAs) and Appropriate Assessments (AAs), as per national legislation and EU guidelines, with monitoring to assess implementation of EIA and AA recommendations. Action 5.3 commits to strengthening a framework policy to address landscapes, conserving landscape characteristics significant for biodiversity conservation.
Malaysia	By 2030, terrestrial and marine spatial planning fully incorporate elements of biodiversity conservation	Malaysia's National Policy on Biological Diversity (NPBD) 2022–2030 addresses spatial planning through Target 3: "By 2030, terrestrial and marine spatial planning fully incorporate elements of biodiversity conservation." Action 3.1 commits the country to incorporate principles for protecting and managing biodiversity at landscape and seascape levels within national development plans, state structure plans, and local district plans; to expand spatial planning to cover all marine areas (including beyond Malaysia's EEZ up to international marine borders); to designate important biodiversity areas as Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESA) within national, state, and local development plans; and to ensure development zones in local district plans avoid ESA and important biodiversity areas during review and updating. Implementation also supports the National Action Plan on Peatlands (NAPP) and ASEAN Peatland Management Strategy 2023–2030 (APMS). The policy identifies the National Physical Plan, the ESA framework, the upcoming National Coastal Physical Plan, revised State Structure Plans, and Local Area Plans as instruments for mainstreaming. The lead agency for Action 3.1 is the Ministry in charge of biodiversity and forestry, with MBC, DOE, JKM, DOSM, PLANMalaysia, state biodiversity agencies, IPTA/IPTS, CSOs/NGOs, and the private sector as partners.
Namibia	The rate of biodiversity loss is significantly reduced through the development and implementation of effective, legally enforceable, ecologically informed Integrated Land Use Plans and Marine Spatial Plans.	NBSAP 3 addresses biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning through three dedicated programmes under National Target 1. Programme 1 establishes a nationally coordinated system for ecosystem classification, mapping, assessment and Red Listing across terrestrial, freshwater, coastal and marine environments, aligned with the IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology, to embed ecosystem outputs into land- and marine-use planning, protected area and OECM designation, restoration prioritisation and sectoral development planning. The Spatial Biodiversity Assessments, Prioritisation and Planning (SBAPP) classification already identifies approximately 200 terrestrial ecosystem types. Programme 2 strengthens the formulation, updating and implementation of Integrated Regional Land Use Plans (IRLUPs), municipal land-use plans and related instruments, responding to a diagnosed policy gap — the absence of a land-use planning policy — and to challenges around the legal status and enforceability of the IRLUP framework, the gap between plan development and implementation at regional and local levels, and the absence of coverage of freshwater ecosystems. Ecosystem maps, ecological corridors, wetlands and Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are to be applied more systematically as decision-support tools. Programme 3 develops and applies marine spatial planning to guide sustainable use and conservation of marine and coastal ecosystems. Activities under Programme 1 include producing ecosystem maps classified at GET level 3 or more in risk category, consolidating an open-access national biodiversity database, and disseminating maps to decision-makers. Under Programme 24, finalisation of a Land Use Planning Policy is listed as a high-priority activity. Urban spatial planning is addressed in Programme 21, which promotes biodiversity-inclusive urban planning instruments, guidelines and standards.
Nigeria	By 2020, adoption of a national ecosystem-based spatial planning process and plans, promoting the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services to sustain development.	Nigeria's NBSAP identifies poor land use planning and unclear tenure rights as a major catalyst of biodiversity degradation and loss, linking land conflicts in Jos, Benue/Taraba, and Eastern Nigeria to resource access disputes. National Goal 1 commits to designing an integrated approach to land use planning in support of rehabilitating critical ecosystems including mangroves, grasslands, montane vegetation, woodlands, tropical rainforests, watersheds, wetlands, rivers, and lakes. National Target 3 states: "By 2020, adoption of a national ecosystem-based spatial planning process and plans, promoting the values of biodiversity and ecosystem services to sustain development." Actions under this target include conducting a national biodiversity survey to identify habitats of high biodiversity and ecosystem service value and priorities for ecosystem restoration and new conservation areas (Action 3.1, NPS, 2016–2020); establishing a government process for ecosystem-based spatial planning through the Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation (Action 3.2, OSGF, 2016–2020); establishing grazing reserves and pastoral routes as part of land use planning (Action 3.3, NALDA Kaduna, 2016–2020); and safeguarding wildlife corridors as part of spatial development and green infrastructure (Action 3.4, NPS, 2016–2020). Sub-national entities are directed to establish their own ecosystem-based spatial planning processes adapted to their localities.
Netherlands		The NBSAP dedicates extensive attention to biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, framing it as essential in one of Europe's most densely populated countries where housing, energy, mobility, agriculture, water management, defence, and nature conservation all compete for space. The central instrument is the Spatial Planning Memorandum (Nota Ruimte), which replaces the 2020 National Environmental Vision (NOVI) as the overarching framework for national spatial policy. A Preliminary Design was published in 2024 and is being developed into a definitive memorandum. It outlines a biodiversity-inclusive spatial approach structured around three directions: balance between agriculture and nature, a climate-neutral and circular society, and strong regions/cities/villages. The NOVEX programme complements this through twelve spatial arrangements with provinces and an area-specific approach in sixteen NOVEX areas. Development perspectives are being drawn up for three areas with particularly complex water, climate, and nature challenges: the Green Heart, the Peel, and Arnhem-Nijmegen FoodValley. The Beautiful Netherlands Programme (Programma Mooi Nederland) develops future and action perspectives emphasising spatial quality across experiential, functional, and future value. From its Perspective A (agriculture and nature), design concepts support green-blue infrastructure and transitional areas. For the North Sea, the North Sea Programme 2022-2027 provides frameworks for spatial use including wind energy areas and MSFD protected areas. Policy since 2015 focuses on nature-inclusive design of wind farms, supported by the Ecology and Cumulation Framework (KEC). In 2024, a programme for Nature Strengthening of the North Sea (Natuurversterking Noordzee) was established with a budget of EUR 150 million. The Water and Soil as Guiding Principles (Water Bodem Sturend) letter identifies 33 structuring choices for incorporating water and soil systems early in plan development, including structuring choice 12 on promoting biodiversity on dykes and creating space for natural backshores. Defence sites are identified as playing an important role in conservation due to their size and use. Defence applies nature-strengthening and climate-adaptive measures in site management and construction, including green-blue infrastructure integration between training and barracks sites. The National Action Plan for Strengthening Zoonoses Policy addresses risks from changes in biodiversity, land use, and climate, linking zoonosis prevention to biodiversity loss reduction within the GBF framework. The Nature-Inclusive Agenda 2.0 within the energy domain focuses on research for nature-strengthening measures, combating biodiversity loss in construction of energy infrastructure, and cross-domain knowledge sharing. The NBSAP also lists numerous other programmes that contribute to biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, including the Nitrogen Reduction and Nature Improvement Programme, Birds and Habitats Directives, Water Framework Directive, Programmatic Approach to Large Waters, Nature Programme, Forest Strategy, National Nature Network, and Nature Restoration Regulation.
Norway		The NBSAP frames spatial planning under the Planning and Building Act as the core instrument for reconciling land use and biodiversity. Principles of spatial planning require coordinated development patterns and transport systems, compact urban and suburban areas with access to green structures, densification and transformation before new development zones are opened, and long-term boundaries between urban areas and large continuous agricultural, natural, recreational and reindeer husbandry areas to be drawn through regional or inter-municipal plans. Especially important areas for recreation, biodiversity and carbon storage must be considered, along with valuable agricultural land and Sami interests. The environmental assessment system under the Planning and Building Act requires impact assessments for plans and measures; the Norwegian Environment Agency has developed methods and guidance. The Government's National Expectations for Regional and Local Planning 2023–2027 sets an expectation that conservation and restoration of natural areas or establishment of nature-based solutions be considered as climate adaptation measures. The NBSAP acknowledges evaluations (EVAPLAN 2018, NOU 2024:2 Nature Risk Commission, Menon/Eco-fact AS) finding that biodiversity is not adequately safeguarded in local planning and that total impacts of land use changes are not captured. Area neutrality is defined as net zero loss of nature with physical loss of natural land compensated through restoration. Area-based instruments are cross-referenced to targets 2 and 3.
State of Palestine		The NBSAP records that Palestine adopted a national spatial plan in 2014, with implementation initiated, that takes protected areas within Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) into account for the purpose of development regulation. The strategy notes that effectiveness is partial because of the lack of Palestinian sovereignty over all the land of the State of Palestine: Israel exerts control over the Gaza maritime zone (which is also blockaded), and Area C — comprising most of the West Bank — is under Israeli civil and military control, which limits the State's ability to implement the spatial plan. A new spatial plan going forward to 2050 is being worked on which takes into consideration environmental needs and protection. After writing the cross-sectoral strategy (EQA 2017), the Palestinian Government committed resources and experts to conserve the environment, and the EQA engaged with IUCN and others on analysis of levels of protection in different KBAs, including a gap analysis (project for 2021–2022). Recommendation 17 of the protected-areas section calls for integrating protected-area networks into spatial planning. The NBSAP also identifies priorities for managing urban sprawl, including environmental impact assessment planning for urban development, government controls to ensure proper spatial planning for urban and suburban areas, and developing clear boundaries and balances for master plans.
Rwanda	By 2030, participatory biodiversity-inclusive spatial land use planning and management to ensure biodiversity loss is close to zero.	The NBSAP sets National Target 1 as achieving participatory, biodiversity-inclusive spatial land-use planning and management by 2030 to bring biodiversity loss close to zero. The headline indicator is the percentage of land and water body area covered by biodiversity-inclusive spatial plans, with complementary indicators tracking Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) inclusion in spatial planning and identification of degraded ecosystems with high biodiversity importance. Strategic actions include mainstreaming biodiversity into the Agriculture Land-use Masterplan (LUMP), establishing baseline information on biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning under the 7th National Report to the CBD, ensuring biodiversity consideration within EIA regulations and land lease guidelines, developing spatial plans that integrate KBA and Important Bird Area conservation, integrating migratory flyway conservation into national land-use planning, assessing biodiversity integration in Strategic Environmental Assessments and Environmental and Social Impact Assessments, and establishing a land-use monitoring framework for high-biodiversity areas. The agricultural sectoral plan includes mainstreaming biodiversity into agriculture policy, strategy, and plans (led by MINAGRI, 2025–2030). The forestry sectoral plan includes maintaining and expanding forest cover beyond 30.4% of national territory and developing long-term forest restoration plans. The NBSAP notes that no consolidated information on the status of biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and management currently exists, positioning this as a baseline-building target. The costing allocates USD 14 million to this target.
Sudan	By 2030, the rate of loss of all natural habitats in Sudan is brought down by at least 25 percent, and degradation and fragmentation is significantly reduced through participatory, integrated and biodiversity inclusive spatial planning, and/or effective management processes, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities.	Sudan's National Target 1 commits to bringing the rate of loss of all natural habitats down by at least 25 percent by 2030, with degradation and fragmentation significantly reduced through participatory, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning and/or effective management processes, while respecting the rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. The NBSAP sets component targets for spatial planning across multiple biodiversity components, including forest biodiversity, rangeland, wildlife, marine, and inland waters. For forests, the Forests National Corporation is tasked with developing and implementing programmes for sustainable land management practices such as rotational grazing, agroforestry, and contour ploughing in targeted areas including Red Sea, Kassala, Northern and River Nile states (US$1,500,000, 2025–2030). Budget allocations under Goal A for Target 1 actions include US$800,000 for rangeland (3 actions), US$1,800,000 for forests (2 actions), US$8,500,000 for wildlife (3 actions), US$900,000 for marine (3 actions), and US$250,000 for inland waters (1 action). The monitoring framework uses headline indicators including extent of natural ecosystems and percentage of land and sea covered by biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning, with zonation targets for terrestrial and sea areas at 75% and 25% respectively.
Slovenia		The NEAP 2020–2030 addresses spatial planning for biodiversity through multiple instruments. The soil protection chapter sets an explicit goal of "gradual reduction in net annual growth of built-up land with the aim of zero growth from 2050 onwards" and commits to reducing soil sealing, returning unbuilt land intended for building to agricultural and forestry use, and improving land policy for the activation of existing building land. Priority rehabilitation of soil in degraded building land and its reuse is identified as an ongoing measure (MOP). The biodiversity chapter identifies non-sustainable spatial management as a primary driver of habitat loss and calls for integrating biodiversity conservation goals into spatial development by harmonising economic, social and environmental aspects, including planning for green systems of urban areas and green infrastructure. The Strategic Plan (National Objective 8) commits to including biodiversity content in key national and local strategies and decision-making processes by 2030, with specific measures for comprehensive environmental impact assessment and acceptability assessments in Natura 2000 areas for operational programmes, national spatial plans and municipal spatial plans (Measure 8.2.1). Measure 8.3.2 commits to preserving the mosaic nature of the landscape and identifying landscape elements contributing to biodiversity within spatial planning and land use.
Senegal		The NBSAP groups GBF Target 1 with Targets 2 and 3 under the heading "Protection and restoration of natural capital," committing to extend the classified domain and incorporate biodiversity into territorial planning tools in order to reduce losses of ecosystems and natural resources, safeguard habitat integrity and strengthen ecological connectivity. The strategic framework is articulated around eight Territorial Hubs defined by the Senegal 2050 national transformation agenda (Dakar, Thiès, Centre, Diourbel-Louga, North, North-East, South-East, South), each receiving hub-specific spatial planning orientations. These include securing land tenure of natural spaces through classification, harmonising urban planning with environmental policies, and maintaining biological corridors. The National Development Strategy (SND 2025–2029) includes "ensuring sustainable territorial planning and organised urbanisation" as a strategic objective, with expected outcomes including construction of sustainable cities and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services. The implementation framework identifies territorial planning as a key lever within the first pillar of reducing pressures and threats.
Suriname	2.1 Suriname has adopted terrestrial and marine spatial planning laws and regulations, including zoning and integrated management plans, to minimize unsustainable ecosystem conversion or degradation	The NBSAP identifies the absence of national spatial-planning legislation as a core gap and dedicates national Target 2.1 to adopting terrestrial and marine spatial planning laws and zoning to minimize unsustainable ecosystem conversion. The narrative notes that land- and sea-use are the main drivers of habitat loss and that conversion for agriculture, urban expansion, mining and infrastructure proceeds in a fairly uncoordinated manner. The strategy lists draft instruments to be advanced (Concept Wet Ruimtelijke Planning 2018-present; Wet Maritieme Zones 2017) and tasks the Ministry of Spatial Planning and Environment (Min. ROM – Dir. Spatial Planning) with leading capacity-building, finalization of the Spatial Planning Law, implementing decrees, and a land-zoning policy that incorporates intact critical biodiversity areas and controls the agricultural frontier.
El Salvador — NBSAP Country Page	Participatory environmental planning in 100% of terrestrial ecosystems and agroecosystems.	The NBSAP establishes National Target 1: participatory environmental planning in 100% of terrestrial ecosystems and agroecosystems. The indicator framework measures the percentage of terrestrial and continental aquatic ecosystem area represented in environmental assessment and zoning instruments, with the baseline noted as 'no data as of 2022.' The responsible body is the Directorate of Environmental Assessment and Compliance (DEC-MARN), in coordination with the Directorate of Territorial Planning (DOT), MAG, and MITUR. The strategy identifies the development of environmental planning instruments for territorial and landscape management as a priority, including the creation of environmental valuation and zoning instruments at the Ministry of the Environment. The Ecosystem and Productive Landscape Restoration Programme (PREPP), officialised in 2025, and the landscape policies developed with the World Resources Institute (WRI) are cited as tools to support territorial management and environmental planning across productive sectors. Challenges identified include the generation and availability of spatial data, establishment of biodiversity criteria in municipal and sectoral plans (tourism, construction, fisheries), and ensuring that at least 50% of management plans in conservation areas and PNAs are developed or updated.
Chad	NT5: By 2030, the rate of depletion of all natural habitats, including forests, is reduced by at least half and if possible brought close to zero, and the degradation and fragmentation of habitats are substantially reduced.	The NBSAP aligns National Objective 5 with Global Target 1. The corresponding national target (NT5) sets out that, by 2030, the rate of depletion of all natural habitats, including forests, is reduced by at least half and if possible brought close to zero, and the degradation and fragmentation of habitats are substantially reduced. The 2011–2020 reference baseline is an estimated degradation rate of 2.5% per year; the 2030 target is a reduction to 1.5% per year with spatial planning integrating biodiversity. Measures listed include updating of land-use plans through the inclusion of representative retention objectives for all ecosystem types and incorporation of corridors and transhumance routes; establishment of a mitigation hierarchy through Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIA) for infrastructure development; identification, mapping and retention plans for species important for conservation; a project to strengthen protected areas management; integration of species and ecosystem priorities in local development plans; projects to identify, restore, and reforest degraded habitats; mapping and protection of corridors and systems important for wildlife migration; strengthening transboundary cooperation for populations crossing international borders; and awareness-raising on natural habitat conservation. Indicators are the percentage of land area covered by spatial plans integrating biodiversity (I1GT1) and the percentage of land-use plans based on key biodiversity area information (I2GT1). Degree of alignment between NO5 and GT1–8 is rated Medium.
Togo	Target 1 : Integrate biodiversity into spatial territorial planning tools in order to reduce the loss of areas of high importance for biodiversity, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity	The NBSAP designates National Target 1 as integrating biodiversity into spatial territorial planning tools to reduce the loss of areas of high importance for biodiversity, including ecosystems of high ecological integrity, mapped directly to GBF Target 1. The legislative framework includes Law No. 2016-002 of 4 January 2016, the Framework Law on Spatial Planning. The diagnostic analysis identifies the development of a national territorial planning scheme as underway but notes its absence as a current weakness. The ministry responsible for planning is assigned a central role in public investment programming, spatial planning, and the integration of biodiversity into planning tools. The NBSAP's land use dynamics section documents changes in land cover from 1975 to 2010, recording considerable agricultural expansion, extensive fragmentation of wooded savannahs and open forests in the Southern Benin-Togolese Peneplain ecoregion, and dramatic changes in the northern Dry Sudanian Savannah and Oti Plain ecoregions.
Thailand	Target 1: Reduce the loss of important biodiversity areas both in landscape and seascape through effective spatial planning.	Thailand's National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2027 makes integrated, biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning the first of twelve national targets under Strategy 1 (Conserve, Restore, and Eliminate Threats to Biodiversity to Maintain Ecosystem Services). National Target 1 commits the country to ensure that all areas are under integrated spatial planning and/or effective management processes addressing land and sea use change, so that by 2027 coverage of high-biodiversity areas is increased and loss is reduced, with continued progress toward 2030. The target description identifies agricultural sector expansion as the principal driver of terrestrial and freshwater land-use change and singles out coastal settlement, coastal transport infrastructure, coastal fishing, and tourism development as cumulative pressures on marine and coastal ecosystems. The recommended actions are: (1) integrated spatial planning using environmental impact assessment and strategic environmental assessment; (2) complementary effective spatial management processes including coastal area management plans, wetland management plans, and watershed management plans; (3) extending spatial planning or effective management to the entire national territory — terrestrial, freshwater, and marine — by 2027; and (4) participatory planning that recognises the land-use practices and rights of indigenous peoples and local communities. The plan links this target to a broader 'ecosystem approach combined with integrated spatial planning' as a transformational change element of the 2023-2027 cycle.
Tunisia	By 2030, all sensitive zones and zones of high importance for biodiversity are integrated into territorial development plans and the loss of their biodiversity is reduced to the maximum extent	The NBSAP dedicates Objective A1 to integrating biodiversity into spatial planning and territorial development, with an explicit link to KM-GBF Target 1. The national target states: "By 2030, all sensitive zones and zones of high importance for biodiversity are integrated into territorial development plans and the loss of their biodiversity is reduced to the maximum extent." The strategy notes that urbanisation, agricultural intensification, communication infrastructure development, and industrialisation transform ecosystems and deplete species diversity through changes in land use, and that planning strategies at national, regional, and local scales do not sufficiently account for biodiversity conservation. Measure A1.1 calls for integrating all sensitive areas of the national territory into spatial planning master plans. This includes inventorying all sites and species with their threat status (Action A1.1.1), identifying monitoring indicators for rare, threatened, and endemic species and critical habitats (Action A1.1.2), assessing and integrating ecosystem services into planning processes (Action A1.1.3), and developing management plans for each sensitive area (Action A1.1.4). Measure A1.2 focuses on integrating Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) into territorial development plans, with actions to inventory KBAs at regional and local levels, develop biodiversity action plans for each KBA, integrate these into national and international strategies, and develop corridors between KBAs. The gaps analysis (§56) identifies the need to strengthen spatial planning regulations with measures relating to risk zones, buildable land, upper parts of hydrographic basins, and the use of alluvial plains. The National ICZM Strategy (ratified 2022) proposes six strategic axes for integrated coastal zone management including identifying homogeneous territories for integrated intervention and developing legal and institutional frameworks.
Vanuatu	By 2030, Vanuatu will develop and implement national spatial plans for marine, inland water, and terrestrial areas that integrate land use, areas of kastom importance, key biodiversity areas, and freshwater catchments. These plans shall ensure that actions to reduce biodiversity loss are supported by nature and ecosystem-based solutions, with progress monitored and quantified using geospatial methodologies.	The NBSAP commits to developing and implementing national spatial plans for marine, inland water, and terrestrial areas by 2030, integrating land use, areas of kastom importance, key biodiversity areas, and freshwater catchments, with progress monitored using geospatial methodologies. Provincial implementation plans operationalise this through province-specific spatial planning activities: Torba plans to map community water protection zones on Vanua Lava and Mota Lava; Sanma will develop spatial plans for all its Community Conservation Areas (up to 19 CCAs); Penama will produce updated land cover and land use maps for Ambae, Pentecost, and Maewo; Malampa will develop terrestrial and marine spatial plans and MPA zonation maps for four sites; and Tafea will map proposed and registered CCAs across eight area councils and develop terrestrial and marine spatial planning for Futuna Island. The total budget for Strategic Area 1 (Targets 1-5, 7) is VUV 573,850,000, with Target 1 allocated 15 actions costing VUV 62,000,000.
Yemen	By 2030: 20% of areas of environmental importance should be under spatial planning and effective management. By 2050, all land in Yemen should be under spatial planning to prevent land use changes in biodiversity-rich ecosystems. This includes sustainably increasing the area, quality, connectivity, access to, and utilization of green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas.	The NBSAP establishes National Target 1, aligned to GBF Target 1, stating: by 2030, 20% of areas of environmental importance should be under spatial planning and effective management; by 2050, all land in Yemen should be under spatial planning to prevent land use changes in biodiversity-rich ecosystems. This includes sustainably increasing the area, quality, connectivity, access to, and utilization of green and blue spaces in urban and densely populated areas. The strategy identifies land use change as a direct driver of biodiversity loss, noting that urban encroachment, informal settlements, and agricultural expansion are replacing ecologically sensitive ecosystems including mangroves, forests, and wetlands. Absence of comprehensive land use plans and human settlement plans is cited as a contributing factor. Pathway 1, Outcome 1.3 is dedicated to improved spatial planning and land use around ecologically sensitive ecosystems. Five strategic actions are specified (ACT 1.29 through ACT 1.33), covering development of a national land use plan policy, establishment of a national spatial planning unit, development of national land use plans and zoning identifying ecological sensitive zones, strengthening institutional capacities for enforcement, and establishing community land use structures. The indicative budget for improved spatial planning of ecologically important ecosystems is US$17.1 million, to be sourced from domestic public spending, bilateral and multilateral funding, ODA, NGOs, and community groups.
Austria		The strategy addresses spatial planning through several sectoral channels rather than a single integrated commitment. It calls for the consideration of floodplain systems and their river-morphological space requirements in local and supra-local spatial planning, the spatial-planning safeguarding of habitat corridors for climate-induced species migration, and designation of priority and exclusion zones for renewable energy installations based on ecological, technical and economic criteria. For industrial and commercial land use it foresees strengthened inter-municipal coordination in regional spatial planning programmes for business settlements, avoidance of settlement on ecologically valuable or agriculturally and forestry-used areas, and strengthened incentives for the reactivation of commercially and industrially pre-used sites. Land-take reduction objectives are stated for transport (5.5 km²/year by road, 2020 baseline) and commercial premises (10.6 km²/year, 2020 baseline). The strategy notes that nature conservation and spatial planning fall within the competence of the federal provinces and that municipalities are responsible for land-use designation and development planning. It foresees evaluation and strengthening of mediative and participatory processes in connection with the conservation and restoration of biodiversity.
Australia		The NBSAP does not present a dedicated spatial planning framework for biodiversity, but two elements relate to the target. The enabler on environmental data and information (§30) is stated to align with GBF targets 1 and 21, with the intent that improved data through Environment Information Australia and the Biodiversity Data Repository will support planning and management decisions affecting nature. Objective 9 (§54) calls for integrating urban ecology and biodiversity policies into land use planning, transport, and statutory planning requirements. Figure 5 maps Objective 10 (Increase knowledge about nature) and Objective 11 (Share and use information effectively) to GBF Target 1.
Burkina Faso		The NBSAP references the 2012 Agrarian and Land Reorganisation Law, which establishes biodiversity conservation and water/soil conservation as general principles of spatial planning and sustainable territorial development. Under this law, spatial planning instruments at national, regional, and provincial levels organise space and designate special protection zones for forest areas and fragile ecosystems such as wetlands. The logical framework includes an indicator for the proportion of landscape management sites developed, targeted to rise from 25% in 2018 to 65% by 2030. However, no specific commitment to bring loss of high-biodiversity-importance areas close to zero is articulated, and spatial planning is not developed as a standalone strategy element.
Benin		The NBSAP does not present a dedicated spatial planning strategy, but land use change and land tenure are recurring themes. Land use dynamics between 2008 and 2018 reveal a conversion of nearly 30% of vegetation cover to anthropogenic formations, with agricultural lands, fallows and agglomerations expanding while natural formations regress (§30). The structural causes analysis identifies insufficient sectoral integration—contradictions between agriculture, spatial planning, mining, and urbanisation policies—as well as land speculation and an incomplete legal framework for land (§42). The risk analysis section specifies that in the northern fuelwood basin, 7,495 km² of natural forest formations were converted between 2005 and 2020, and in the southern basin 8,688 km² (§135). This imposes a hierarchy: avoid conversion, reduce pressure, then restore where it can be secured. Among mitigation measures, the NBSAP calls for securing the spatial and legal basis before investing—clarified boundaries, official maps, priority demarcation of degraded forest blocks, local display, and management agreements with explicit rights and obligations (§133). National objective 4 in the monitoring framework mentions "biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning" and includes a binary indicator on countries using "participatory, integrated and biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning or effective land-use and sea-use change management processes" (§127). However, the NBSAP does not contain a standalone spatial planning action or programme corresponding to KMGBF Target 1.
Côte d'Ivoire		The NBSAP identifies the integration of biodiversity into spatial planning as a priority. It notes that urban expansion, transport infrastructure, agriculture, and hydro-agricultural developments bear responsibility for ecosystem and habitat destruction, and that negative impacts could be minimised by taking biodiversity into account from the planning and design stage of development, ensuring unavoidable losses are compensated, and promoting tools for addressing biodiversity among local territorial planners. Separately, the strategy calls for incorporating protected areas into the spatial, social, and economic planning of decentralised authorities (Regions, Departments, Communes), leading them to reconcile protected area integrity with population aspirations and development objectives. However, no quantified target for reducing loss of high-biodiversity areas is stated, and the spatial planning measures remain at the level of principles rather than a dedicated spatial planning programme.
Eritrea		The NBSAP does not contain a standalone spatial planning target aligned with GBF Target 1. However, several action plans incorporate spatial planning elements. National Target 1 on ecosystem restoration includes actions to conduct survey and mapping of terrestrial ecosystems to identify priority habitats requiring protection or rehabilitation (Action 1.1.1, 2026-2027, USD 500,000) and to integrate habitat/ecosystem mapping with land use/land cover mapping (Action 1.1.2, 2026-2030, USD 200,000). The NBSAP also calls for restricting expansion of settlements and resettlements to fragile ecosystems or natural forests (Action 1.3.9). During NBSAP-2015 implementation, more than 23 major land degradation hotspot areas covering approximately 1,190,553 hectares were identified through the Land Degradation Neutrality target setting programme. Land use planning is referenced as a contributing factor to degradation rather than as a dedicated conservation tool.
European Union		The strategy does not present a unified spatial planning framework for biodiversity, but several sectoral planning instruments address components of Target 1. National maritime spatial plans, which Member States are required to deliver in 2021, are to cover all maritime sectors and activities as well as area-based conservation-management measures. Cities of at least 20,000 inhabitants are called on to develop Urban Greening Plans by the end of 2021, integrating nature-based solutions into urban planning. The strategy also addresses land take and soil sealing, noting that fertile soils continue to be lost to urban sprawl and calling for measures under the Strategy for a Sustainable Built Environment. However, there is no overarching requirement for participatory, biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning across all land and sea areas, nor a specific commitment to bring loss of high-biodiversity areas close to zero.
Lesotho		The NBSAP III does not contain a standalone spatial planning target aligned with GBF Target 1. However, National Target 16 includes an action to develop and implement Integrated Land Use Plans, with outputs including spatial and zoning plans, maps, guidelines for land-use planning integration, and a Relocation, Resettlement and Compensation Plan. This action is led by MLGHAP and MPWT with a timeframe of 2027/30 and a budget of USD 2,058,825. National Target 1 commits to reviewing the national Environmental Impact Assessment process to improve its efficiency and effectiveness, including enacting draft EIA Regulations and updating EIA guidelines, with a budget of USD 176,480. The broader framing of National Target 16 calls for mainstreaming biodiversity conservation into development plans at community and district levels and updating the Decentralisation Policy to incorporate biodiversity issues.
Libya		The NBSAP does not present a biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning framework. However, it describes institutional arrangements for water resource management across multiple agencies — the General Water Authority, Man-Made River Authority, Ministry of Environment, and Ministry of Agriculture — each with overlapping land- and water-use responsibilities. It also documents that Libyan rangelands, covering approximately 13.3 million hectares (over 70% of national land area), have undergone conversion to irrigated cropland in areas receiving 200 mm or more of rainfall, reducing rangeland area and displacing grazing animals to more marginal lands. The first theme of the action plan, which may have contained spatial planning commitments aligned with this target, was not included in the available briefing sections.
Madagascar		The NBSAP addresses spatial planning under Target 1 of Programme 1, labelled "Spatial planning", with estimated financial requirements of USD 56,477,743 (8.25% of Programme 1). The briefing does not include the detailed action table for Target 1, but the supporting implementation sub-sections describe a system for producing, centralising and updating data to monitor the state of ecosystems, habitat evolution and the implementation of planning tools, with integration of these data into national planning systems. Capacity-building needs are identified in standardised inventory methodologies, habitat-evolution analysis, IUCN status updates, SEAs/EIAs, land-tenure management, GIS, territorial analysis, participatory processes and cross-sectoral coordination. The financing sub-section calls for investment to modernise territorial information systems, update key ecosystem inventories, support local structures in implementation and dissemination of plans, and secure the functioning of observatories and cross-sectoral coordination. The review of the 2015-2025 NBSAPs identifies weak cross-sectoral coordination — in agriculture, fisheries, mining, energy, infrastructure, territorial planning and health — as a constraint on biodiversity integration into sectoral policies.
Mexico — Estrategia Nacional de Biodiversidad de México (ENBioMex)		The alignment analysis identifies 39 ENBioMex actions with a direct contribution to Target 1 and 68 enabling actions, representing 24% of the total 160 ENBioMex actions. Axes 2 (Conservation) and 4 (Addressing pressure factors) provide the greatest direct contribution (15 and 14 actions respectively), while Axis 5 contributes only in an enabling capacity. Specific action lines mapped to this target include ecological and territorial planning (4.1.5), policy harmonisation (4.1.4), urban planning (4.7.1), ecological criteria in territorial planning (6.2.3), information systems on conservation status and pressure factors (1.4.2, 1.4.3), protected area systems (2.1.1), in situ conservation policies (2.1.2), national restoration policy (2.3.1), and strategies to prevent degradation (4.1.3). The conclusions note that Target 1 is among the targets addressed by 24–27% of ENBioMex actions due to its interaction with different productive sectors.
Panama		The NBSAP does not present a dedicated spatial planning framework for biodiversity, but several elements address land-use planning indirectly. The strategy commits to consolidating a network of at least three biological corridors in the regions of Azuero, Coclé and Veraguas, and to reducing unplanned agricultural expansion in those zones by 30%. Watershed Committees operating across 52 watersheds are designated to integrate municipalities, communities, water users, the private sector, academia and social organisations into territorial management. The National Mapathon of Forest Cover and Land Use enables detection of land-use changes and guidance of corrective actions. LDN and adaptation criteria are being incorporated into watershed plans.
Paraguay		The NBSAP addresses spatial planning through sectoral line 3.6.2 on protected areas and connectivity, proposing to protect at least 20% of the national territory through protected wild areas (SINASIP), OECMs and ICCAs, and to restore 10% of degraded areas. The NBSAP notes that the GBF global objective of 30% by 2030 was not adopted nationally; a progressive approach prioritises consolidating SINASIP, recognising OECMs and ICCAs, and strengthening ecological representativeness and functional connectivity. Sectoral line 3.6.5 identifies the limited articulation of biodiversity and climate criteria into Urban and Territorial Development Plans (Planes de Ordenamiento Urbano y Territorial, POUT) and local adaptation plans, and sets a 2030 target for 60% of local governments in the first group under Decree 3,934/25 to implement mitigation and adaptation measures. Youth consultations identified unplanned land use, unregulated productive expansion and deficiencies in urban planning as principal threats.
Saudi Arabia		The NBSAP does not present a dedicated spatial planning target or strategy. Spatial planning and land use appear as components within National Target 15, which calls for the full mainstreaming of biodiversity conservation values into decision-making processes, policies, strategies, and plans of development sectors, explicitly listing spatial planning, land use, and integrated environmental assessment among the aspects covered. A lessons-learned section notes that biodiversity concepts were not adequately mainstreamed into agricultural, urban, industrial, or tourism planning in the previous strategy period. The agricultural sector section references land-use improvement initiatives. However, no standalone commitment to biodiversity-inclusive spatial planning or to reducing loss of high-biodiversity-importance areas to near zero is articulated.
Sweden		The NBSAP frames spatial planning through the Planning and Building Act (2010:900) and the Environmental Code, noting that municipalities must weigh nature and cultural values, environmental quality standards, and long-term sustainable development in planning and permission-granting, and identifies this as relevant to target 1. Sweden applies an ecosystem-based approach to marine spatial planning, with national marine plans developed for different marine areas. The strategy notes that Sámi and local communities should continue to be ensured meaningful participation in physical planning and other decisions that may affect traditional sustainable use of land, carried out in accordance with the Environmental Code, the Minerals Act, the Planning and Building Act, the Forestry Act and the Act (2022:66) on consultation on matters concerning the Sámi people, and to the extent possible in a coordinated manner that facilitates assessments of cumulative effects. Consultation with Sámi representatives was conducted in the development of the national strategy.
Uganda		The NBSAP does not describe a dedicated spatial planning instrument, but Strategic Objective 1 is mapped to KMGBF Target 1 in Table 22 and addresses several related concepts. Section 4.4.1 notes that many protected areas are rapidly becoming isolated due to population growth, land-use change and new infrastructure, and that fragmentation inhibits dispersal, reduces gene flow, and increases edge effects. The NBSAP states that opportunities for establishing, maintaining or managing corridors between protected areas are rapidly diminishing, and calls for a holistic approach across both public and private lands to protect and manage natural ecosystems and ensure connectivity between remaining habitats. Strategies listed under SO1 include instituting measures to stop further loss of natural habitats and improving management of agricultural practices and forests for biodiversity conservation. However, no specific spatial planning process, methodology, or quantified target for reducing loss of high-biodiversity areas is articulated.
Viet Nam		The NBSAP calls for developing a national biodiversity conservation master plan and integrating biodiversity conservation requirements into regional, sectoral, and provincial planning. It also commits to improving the quality of strategic environmental assessments and environmental impact assessments to mitigate negative impacts on biodiversity, and to supervising compliance with biodiversity conservation commitments during planning and implementation of development projects. However, these references address planning integration rather than a specific spatial planning process aimed at reducing loss of high-biodiversity-importance areas.
Zambia		The NBSAP does not contain a standalone spatial planning target, but integrated land use planning features as a strategic intervention under National Target 5 (reducing deforestation by 25% by 2020) and National Target 7 (sustainable management of agriculture, aquaculture, and forestry areas). The strategy calls for institutionalizing integrated land use planning across sectors, building capacity of key sector actors in the use of guidelines for integrated land use planning, and conducting integrated land use planning in targeted landscapes for biodiversity conservation. The situation analysis documents habitat transformation from shifting cultivation in northern Zambia, conversion of forest land to permanent agriculture in east-central-southern regions, and extensive encroachment of protected forest areas — by 2011, less than half the National Forest estate was considered free from encroachment or settlement. Forest reserves surrounding Lusaka have been converted to urban land use or severely degraded. Six of the 20 National Parks have been encroached, and several GMAs have been almost completely taken over by settlements.