India, Feb. 21 -- As countries work toward the 30x30 target under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, protecting 30 per cent of land and sea by 2030, a new study highlighted a major gap in conservation efforts.

Merely increasing the size of protected areas is insufficient to protect biodiversity. A study published on February 13, 2025 in PLOS Biology revealed that even in protected areas, tropical mammals remain at risk due to human activities outside these zones.

The research, led by Ilaria Greco of the University of Florence, Italy, and colleagues, described a process called "extinction filtering", where species sensitive to human disturbance disappear, leaving only those that can survive in degraded landscapes. This...