Governments achieve target of protecting 17% of land globally

UN report warns that quantity not matched by quality, with many conserved areas poorly protected, as Germany backs new landscapes fund for developing countries

An area greater than the land mass of Russia has been added to the world's network of national parks and conservation areas since 2010, amid growing pressure to protect nature.

As of today, about 17% of land and inland water ecosystems and 8% of marine areas are within formal protected areas, with the total coverage increasing by 42% since the beginning of the last decade, according to the Protected Planet report by the UN Environment Programme (Unep) and International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).