Can areas managed for fisheries, cultural practices, military, or tourism, rather than conservation, count toward protecting 30% of the ocean? This is the central promise and tension behind other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), a concept now embedded in Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Yet despite their pivotal role in the 30×30 agenda, OECMs remain poorly understood. As of April 2026, only 17 countries have reported OECMs to the global database, and marine sites are drastically underrepresented. This talk offers a structured introduction to OECMs for a broad audience. I explain what they are, how they differ from marine protected areas in their identification pathways and governance arrangements, and what benefits they offer for both biodiversity and local communities. Critically, I also examine what we still don't know, from screening criteria for the marine realm and effectiveness measurement to the risks of "paper OECMs," governance equity, financing mechanisms, and the integration of local ecological knowledge. These open questions represent urgent research frontiers that will determine whether OECMs fulfill their promise or become shortcuts that undermine it.
ZMT - Leibniz Zentrum für Marine Tropenforschung
