World Database on Protected Areas
| International organization | |
| Industry | Conservation; Sustainable Development |
| Founded | 1981, Cambridge, England |
| Website |
www.wdpa.org www.protectedplanet.net |
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the largest assembly of data on the world's terrestrial and marine protected areas, containing more than 161,000 protected areas as of October 2010, with records covering 236 countries and territories throughout the world. The WDPA is a joint venture between the United Nations Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA).
Data for the WDPA is collected from international convention secretariats, governments and collaborating NGOs, but the role of custodian is allocated to the Protected Areas Programme of UNEP-WCMC, based in Cambridge, UK, who have hosted the database since its creation in 1981. The WDPA delivers invaluable information to decision-makers around the world, particularly in terms of measuring the extent and effectiveness of protected areas as an indicator for meeting global biodiversity targets. In October 2010, UNEP-WCMC launched the social media-based website Protected Planet, which allows users to interact with and improve the data that is currently recorded on the World Database on Protected Areas.
The WDPA uses the IUCN's definition of a protected area as the main criteria for entries to be included in the database. The database contains comprehensive information on the different types of protected areas ranging from those strictly protected for conservation purposes to those where sustainable use of natural resources is allowed; and includes government, co-managed, private and community managed areas. The IUCN's World Commission on Protected Areas gives international guidance on the categorisation of protected areas, through its Protected Area Management Categories. These categories are recognised worldwide and facilitate a global system for defining and recording protected areas. Within the WPDA the IUCN Management Category of a protected area is listed (if one has been assigned/reported) as part of the information on a protected area.
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