India, April 8 -- Nearly 10 per cent of the global ocean is now under protection, a 2 per cent rise since 2024, UNEP reports.

The gain follows the Kunming-Montreal pledge to conserve 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030.

But an area almost the size of the Indian Ocean still needs safeguarding.

Protecting 10 per cent of the global ocean within protected and conserved areas has long been a benchmark for international conservation efforts and has been achieved, according to the latest update. But despite the considerable progress, the international community still needs to make efforts to protect an area almost the size of the Indian Ocean by 2030, the United Nations said.

Governments collectively committed in December 2022 to conserve 30...