The concept of 'other effective area-based conservation measures’ appeared first in the CBD's Aichi target 11 to refer to areas which deliver effective conservation without this being their primary role. There are now IUCN guidelines for recognizing and reporting OECMs and the concept appears in the CBDs draft post-2020 biodiversity targets, so it is clearly here to stay. However, I can find little evidence that it is actually being used in the real world. How are countries incorporating the OECM concept into policies, laws, and plans? Has it had an impact on real-world conservation?