Millions of hectares of protected tropical ecosystems are at risk from overlapping mining concessions and oil and gas blocks, researchers said on Thursday.

The research, led by US environment group Earth Insight, found that oil and gas blocks encroach on more than 61 million hectares of protected areas, an area nearly the size of France. Mining concessions overlap another 42.7 million hectares.

The findings were released ahead of UN biodiversity talks in Yerevan, Armenia, starting October 18. The COP17 meeting will publish a global stocktake of the 30×30 pledge to protect 30 per cent of land, freshwater and oceans by 2030.

Earth Insight said current pledges would reach only 23 per cent by 2030, and that counting hectares is not enough if the areas remain open to industry.

Madhu Rao, chair of the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas, said the focus had gone to the quantitative target rather than the quality of protection.