Sustainable development goal 15 focuses on the sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems. This goal emphasizes the conservation and sustainable management of forests, plant and animal species, and sustainable land and water management. It aims to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, including through coordinated efforts to promote integrated landscape management that provides appropriate and efficient benefits to both society and the environment in the long term. Environmental conservation efforts are therefore crucial for sustainable development, ensuring the efficient and beneficial use of terrestrial ecosystems without causing undesirable environmental and community impacts in the long run.

Sub-goal 15.1

    Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems, including their sustainable management, particularly forests, wetlands, mountains, and drylands, in accordance with international agreements, by 2020.

Sub-goal 15.2

    Promote the implementation of sustainable management of all types of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation globally by 2020.

Sub-goal 15.3

    Combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by desertification, drought, and floods, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by 2030.

Sub-goal 15.4

    Ensure the conservation of mountain ecosystems, including their biodiversity, to enhance their capacity to provide benefits that are essential for sustainable development by 2030.

Sub-goal 15.5

    Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species by 2020.

Sub-goal 15.6

    Promote fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from the utilization of genetic resources and promote appropriate access to those resources, as internationally agreed by 2020.

Sub-goal 15.7

    Take urgent action to end poaching and trafficking of protected species of flora and fauna and address both demand and supply of illegal wildlife products by 2020.

Sub-goal 15.8

    By 2020, introduce measures to prevent the introduction and significantly reduce the impact of invasive alien species on land and water ecosystems and control or eradicate the priority species.

Sub-goal 15.9

    Integrate ecosystem and biodiversity values into national and local planning, development processes, poverty reduction strategies, and accounts by 2020.

Sub-goal 15.A

    Mobilize and significantly increase financial resources from all sources to conserve and sustainably use biodiversity and ecosystems.

Sub-goal 15.B

    Mobilize significant resources from all sources and at all levels to finance sustainable forest management and provide adequate incentives to developing countries to advance such management, including for conservation and reforestation.

Sub-goal 15.C

    Enhance global support for efforts to combat poaching and trafficking of protected species, including by increasing the capacity of local communities to pursue sustainable livelihood opportunities.