September 2018 update of the WDPA

The total number of protected area records in the September 2018 release of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is 235,538 comprising of 218,551 polygons and 16,987 point, covering 245 countries and territories.

Highlights:

Algeria – Partial update, resulting in conversion of the point record for Parc National de Theniet El Had to a polygon record with a reported area of 34.24 km2.

Ethiopia – Partial update, including the addition of more detailed boundaries for the polygon records of nine existing National Parks, and the conversion of five point records to polygons.

Guatemala – Partial update, resulting in the addition of three new polygon records. These updates include a total combined area of 8 km2

Indonesia –Partial update, resulting in more accurate information on the reported area ('REP_AREA' field) for 688 polygon records.

Country	Update type	Polygon			Point				Point converted to polygon
Country	Update type	Added	Removed	Updated		Added	Removed	Updated	Point converted to polygon
Algeria	Complete	0	0	0		0	0	0	1
Ethiopia	Complete	0	0	9		0	0	0	5
Guatemala	Partial	3	0	0		0	0	0	0
Indonesia	Partial	0	0	688		0	0	0	0
Ghana	Partial	0	0	0		0	1	0	0

Added:New feature added in the WDPA (ie. a new WDPAID was created)

Removed : Number of feature removed from the WDPA (ie. a WDPAID was removed from the database)

Updated : Modifications/updates of the geometry or some attributes of existing feature in the WDPA (ie. a feature with an existing WDPAID.

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Map of Protected Areas based upon monthly update

Source: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2018), Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) [On-line], September 2018, Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net.

Citation: UNEP-WCMC (2018). Protected areas map of the world, September 2018 Availabe at: www.protectedplanet.net

Download this map from here

WDPA Manual

WDPA User Manual: We are pleased to announce that the WDPA User Manual has been translated into French, Spanish, Russian and Arabic. Additionally, the Manual has been updated with an appendix on WDPA Data Contributor Agreements (Appendix 2), and has undergone general updates and edits based on user feedback. Version 1.5 of the User Manual is now available in five languages via the following links:

English: http://wcmc.io/WDPA_Manual

French: http://wcmc.io/WDPA_Manual_FR

Spanish: http://wcmc.io/WDPA_Manual_ES

Russian: http://wcmc.io/WDPA_Manual_RU

Arabic: http://wcmc.io/WDPA_Manual_AR

New: Protected Area Management Effectiveness– Country pages on Protected Planet now display information on the management effectiveness of national-level protected areas, as reported by data providers. Pages for individual protected areas now also provide information on whether the sites have Monitoring and Evaluation data in the Global Database on Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME).

Summary of current data in preparation:

The data set status is defined as either:
1) New data set received, 2) Under review by UNEP-WCMC, 3) Under validation by data provider or 4) Final approval stages.

Argentina: Under validation by data provider

Brazil: Under validation by data provider

Bolivia, Plurinational State of: Under validation by data provider

Canada: New Dataset Received

Colombia Final approval stages

Costa Rica: Under validation by data provider

Falkands Islands (Malvinas): Under validation by data provider

Mexico: Under review by UNEP-WCMC

Mozambique: Under validation by data provider

Nigeria: Under validation by data provider

Peru: Under review by UNEP-WCMC

Seychelles: Under validation by data provider