Overall, from January 2020 to March 2022, progress was remarkable for genetic conservation. Genetic diversity in Goal A evolved from a simple mention, to a quantitative commitment, to higher ambition in the quantitative commitment and more specificity, to clearer connections to indicators recently proposed and tested. Genetic diversity in Target 4 evolved from no mention to a simple mention, to more specificity and ambition.
Vital elements of the current text are worth highlighting. Specifically, genetic diversity among populations is needed to maintain adaptation to different local environments, while genetic diversity within populations is needed to allow each population to avoid inbreeding and quickly respond to changing conditions (Turner et al. 2008; Flood and Hancock 2017; Bitter et al. 2019). Both are needed, and maintaining one does not necessarily result in maintaining the other. This concept must be kept in the Post 2020 GBF, preferably as ‘maintain all genetically distinct populations and genetic diversity within populations.’