| Description |
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) represents the global reference platform for the collection, management, and dissemination of official information on terrestrial and marine protected areas worldwide.The main goal of the WDPA is to provide a global, consistent, and up-to-date information base that supports environmental planning, scientific research, and the monitoring of international progress toward biodiversity conservation objectives.
The WDPA compiles data from national governments, international organizations, NGOs, and research institutions. Each protected area is described through a standardized set of attributes. The data are provided in both vector formats (ESRI Shapefile, GeoPackage, GeoJSON) and tabular formats, accompanied by official metadata ensuring transparency and traceability.
The WDPA is a dynamic database, continuously updated. Every month, UNEP-WCMC releases a new version of the dataset, integrating updates from member countries and technical partners. Currently, the WDPA includes over 260,000 protected areas distributed across more than 240 countries and territories, covering about 16% of terrestrial areas and over 8% of marine areas worldwide.
The official access point to the database is ProtectedPlanet.net. |