About this data collection
Protected areas are a key instrument for safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services. Article 2 of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines protected areas as “a geographically defined area, which is designated or regulated and managed to achieve specific conservation objectives.” In addition to protected areas, other related instruments include “other effective area-based conservation measures” (OECMs), defined by the CBD as “a geographically defined area other than a Protected Area, which is governed and managed in ways that achieve positive and sustained long-term outcomes for the in situ conservation of biodiversity, with associated ecosystem functions and services and where applicable, cultural, spiritual, socio–economic, and other locally relevant values.” Together, protected areas and OECMs are essential tools to support achievement of the three Rio Conventions – the CBD, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). Protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures are also essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including support to livelihoods, food and water security, disaster risk reduction, and climate mitigation and adaptation.
How to use this data collection
The Protected Area Collection provides a key resource for planners and decision-makers to identify opportunities for protected areas and OECMs to contribute to national biodiversity, including delivery of Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), as well as climate change and sustainable development priorities.
Explore the collection in three easy steps:
- Browse the key policy questions provided below.
- Select a question of interest to view a description of the map available, input data layers, and policy relevance.
- Click ‘View data’ to view a map that provides input to address the question.
Note: These policy-relevant questions and associated data layers are provided for users to develop their own prioritization when designing Protected Area strategies. While global layers from the UNBL public platform are used here, users may also want to consider using national data to create similar overlays via our UNBL workspaces.
ⓘ Data layers to address key policy-relevant questions
The World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) was established in 2019, following the adoption of the OECM definition (https://www.cbd.int/decisions/cop/14/8) in 2018. Given that the database and definition were only recently developed, many governments have not yet reported data on OECMs, or have reported only a subset of their OECMs. Users should consider this when using the WD-OECM, and should not assume that countries without OECM data lack OECMs in reality, or that countries with OECM data have reported their full complement of OECMs. Users wishing to provide data on OECMs should contact UNEP-WCMC at OECM@unep-wcmc.org.