01 November 20
November 2020 update of the WDPA
The total number of protected area records in the November 2020 release of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is 261,797 comprising 240,740 polygons and 21,057 points, covering 245 countries and territories.
November 2020 also sees another release of the World Database on other effective area-based conservation measures (WD-OECM). The WD-OECM can be combined with the WDPA to reveal how measures beyond protected areas contribute to conservation networks. It can be downloaded here.
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Highlights:
Bhutan: This is the first update for Bhutan since 2014. This complete country update incudes the addition of the new Royal Botanical Park Natural Monument or Feature.
Peru: Complete update for Peru, including the addition of 11 new Private Conservation Areas and 4 new Regional Conservation Areas.
Nicaragua: This is the first update for Nicaragua since 2007. Adds the 1,471 km2 Cayos Perlas Marine Protected Area. In addition, Volcán Maderas was designated as a National Park in 2013 (previously was a Nature Reserve). All the Ramsar sites and UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserves in Nicaragua are now spatially represented by polygons.
Cook Islands: A complete update for the Cook Islands, including one record not updated since 2008. All points have been removed or upgraded to polygons. This update was facilitated by the Secretariat for the Pacific Regional Environment Programme, supported by the BIOPAMA programme.
| Polygons | Points | ||||||||
| Country | Designation name | Added | Removed | Updated | Added | Removed | Updated | Point to polygon | Polygon to point |
| Bhutan | National designations | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Peru | National designations | 14 | 3 | 229 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | National designations | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nicaragua | National designations | 5 | 16 | 67 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserves | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |
| Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | |
| Cook Islands | National designations | 9 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Comoros | National designations | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Seychelles | National designations | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| World Heritage Site | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mozambique | National designations | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Added: Number of features added in the WDPA (i.e. new WDPAIDs created)
Removed: Number of features removed from the WDPA (i.e. WDPAIDs removed from the database)
Updated: Modifications/updates of the geometry and/or attributes of existing features in the WDPA (i.e. features with existing WDPAIDs). Also covers features that have been verified as accurate (i.e. no changes need to be made).
Map of Protected Areas based on monthly update
Citation: UNEP-WCMC (2020). Protected areas map of the world, November 2020 Available at: www.protectedplanet.net
Summary of current data in preparation:
The data set status is defined as one of:
1) New dataset received, 2) Under review by UNEP-WCMC, 3) Under validation by data provider or 4) Final approval stages.
| Dataset | Status |
| Afghanistan | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Algeria | Final Approval Stages |
| Benin | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Bolivia | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Brazil | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Burkina Faso | Final Approval Stages |
| Burundi | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Cameroon | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Central African Republic | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Chile | Final Approval Stages |
| Colombia | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Congo | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Dominican Republic | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Egypt | Final Approval Stages |
| Ethiopia | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Falkland Islands (Malvinas) | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Hong Kong | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| India | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Kazakhstan | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Liberia | New Dataset Received |
| Libya | Final Approval Stages |
| Malaysia | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Mali | Final Approval Stages |
| Mozambique | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Myanmar | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Nigeria | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Niue | Final Approval Stages |
| Panama | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Philippines | Under Review by UNEP-WCMC |
| Rwanda | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Senegal | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| South Africa | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Suriname | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Thailand | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Tunisia | Under Validation by Data Provider |
| Vanuatu | Under Validation by Data Provider |
Resources
View allProtected Planet Report 2020
Tracking progress towards global targets for protected and conserved areas