30 January 2026 | Article
Canada has pledged to protect 30% of its land by 2030, but legal protection still falls well short of that goal. A recent 2025 study suggests that safeguarding species and habitats will require a major expansion of protected areas. With roughly 15% protected, Sweden faces a similar challenge.
Canada, like what EU is suggesting, is aiming to protect 30% of its land by 2030. Today, legally protected areas cover approximately 12% of the land.
A recent study, published in October 2025, looked at how much legally protected land is required to safeguard species and their habitats. This was done from two different perspectives; (1) at least 30% of the spatial distribution for all species is protected and (2) using relative conservation targets based on species’ range sizes. The study concludes that Canada needs to protect another 5-17%, depending on the perspective, thus requiring 17-29% of protected land in total.
Sweden has today approximately 15% of its land and freshwater protected. Using the Canadian study as a benchmark, it would mean that Sweden also needs to protect substantially more land, especially since the vast majority of the current 15% is in the northern part of the country. Hence, the 30% figure may not be far off the mark.
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