World Database on Protected Areas

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Logo of the WDPA

The World Database on Protected Areas ( WDPA ; German : World database on protected areas ) is a database in which almost all areas of the world that are protected or worthy of protection because of their ecological value are recorded and cataloged. It is the most comprehensive data collection of its kind in the world.

The database is operated by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center  (UNEP-WCMC) and maintained under joint responsibility with the World Commission on Protected Areas of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources  (IUCN-WCPA).

The term World Database of Protected Areas can also be found in many cases, sometimes also on official UN websites or at the WDPA itself.

history

The work on the creation of a comprehensive data collection goes back to 1981, when under the direction of the IUCN in their office in Cambridge such a database was planned and initially set up as a simple file with information of protected areas.

Through a joint venture with the United Nations Environment Program and the World Wide Fund for Nature , efforts to complete the database and improve the possibilities for use were continued at the IUCN's World Conservation Monitoring Center . After the establishment of the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center in 2000, the concept of data collection was changed in such a way that the development of the database could make further progress through the formation of a consortium of cooperative interest groups and their involvement.

For this purpose, the Proteus project was launched in 2004 . The aim of this project was to collect all available biodiversity information and to make it freely available to the world and, above all, more easily available. This project got a successor in 2007 with the Proteus 2012, in which, among other things, companies (mostly from the oil and mining industry) as financially strong sponsors could promote the project and at the same time give themselves a corresponding environmental image.

The goal of Proteus by 2012 was:

  • to make the already available database WDPA available to the public in the best possible way.
  • To work together with other leading organizations in the field of species protection and to link their existing information with the WDPA database, to integrate it and to make it fully compatible, so that, for example, decision-makers can always have the best possible information on possible effects of their decisions.
  • using a wiki-like browser tool to create the possibility of continuously updating information about critical processes on the coasts and in the coastal ecosystem .

Content of the database

  • First and foremost, the database contains the UN List of Protected Areas in the 2003 version with 68,066 entries, the data of which would fill 4–5 volumes, but are only available online due to the amount of data . These datasets each meet one of the IUCN categories .
  • Furthermore, when the UN list was drawn up, over 34,000 protected areas with an area of ​​3.6 million km² were stored in the database, which did not meet the criteria at the time of printing.
  • The database has not only saved areas of land that are protected or worthy of protection, it also includes areas of oceans and other bodies of water .
  • The database also contains geographical information that can be analyzed, evaluated and visualized via an implemented geographical information system.

Restrictions due to national regulations

The UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center , the operator of the database, has submitted and had to submit to a number of national restrictions with regard to the content of the database .

As an example, they agreed to delete data on request if a state sees its sovereignty violated by the transmission of data from another state. Another restriction had to be made against the United Kingdom . Since the database is located in UK territory , all data must also be stored under UK law. The British government initially refused to officially release information about protected areas and have it stored in the database, making the island a blank spot on the system's map. Meanwhile, the protected areas on the island are also included.

Database usage rights

The database is freely accessible at all times via a web-based online interface and makes its data available to the general public under the Conservation Commons . However, there are further restrictions on use:

  • The database may not be used commercially.
  • The database or its use may not be further licensed in any way.
  • If data material is used in part or in full in publications , the current status must be used. Furthermore, the source is required and two copies of the publication must be sent.
  • For information used online, you insist on setting a link to the database.

Registered users can download data from the database to their own systems for further use . The possibility of using this data, however, requires a geographic information system and the ability to interpret the KML format .

literature

  • Marine Deguignet, Diego Juffe-Bignoli, Jerry Harrison, Brian MacSharry, Neil Burgess, Naomi Kingston : 2014 United Nations List of Protected Areas . Ed .: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center . Cambridge 2014 (English, online [PDF; 2.0 MB ; accessed on January 20, 2016]).

Web links

Individual references, comments

  1. ↑ a b c d Stuart Chape, Simon Blyth, Lucy Fish, Phillip Fox, Mark Spalding : 2003 United Nations List of Protected Areas . IUCN Publications Services Unit , Cambridge 2003, ISBN 2-8317-0746-3 (English, online [PDF; 542  kB ; accessed on January 4, 2018] also available under ISBN 92-807-2362-6 ).
  2. ↑ The notation shown is sometimes used incorrectly and should be mentioned here for the sake of clarity.
  3. ↑ a b Marine Deguignet, Diego Juffe-Bignoli, Jerry Harrison, Brian MacSharry, Neil Burgess, Naomi Kingston : 2014 United Nations List of Protected Areas . Ed .: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Center . Cambridge 2014 (English, online [PDF; 2.0  MB ; accessed on January 20, 2016]).
  4. ^ Who is supporting the project . WPDA , 2014, archived from the original on May 6, 2014 ; accessed on May 10, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
  5. ↑ Proteus 2012 . UNEP-WCMC , archived from the original on September 15, 2008 ; accessed on January 20, 2016 (English, original website no longer available).
  6. ↑ How does WDPA deal with disputed territories? . WDPA , archived from the original on April 7, 2014 ; accessed on December 31, 2009 (English, original website no longer available).
  7. ↑ When will data be 'locked down'? . WDPA , 2014, archived from the original on May 6, 2014 ; accessed on May 10, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).
  8. ↑ Why are there no protected areas for the United Kingdom in the WDPA? WDPA, archived from the original on April 7, 2014 ; accessed on December 31, 2009 (English, original website no longer available).
  9. ^ Terms of Use. WDPA, accessed October 27, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Can I download data? WDPA, 214, archived from the original on May 6, 2014 ; accessed on May 10, 2014 (English, original website no longer available).