Protected area

World map with percentage of each country under protection (2005 data)
  0–3.9% of the country is protected
  3.9–11.3% protected
  11.3–22.7% protected
  22.7–41.8% protected
  41.8–72.3% protected
  No data
Share of important terrestrial biodiversity areas under protection, as of 2018.

Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood, non-timber forest products, water, ...) is limited.[1]

The term "protected area" also includes marine protected areas and transboundary protected areas across multiple borders. As of 2016, there are over 161,000 protected areas representing about 17 percent of the world's land surface area (excluding Antarctica).[2][3][4][5][6]

For waters under national jurisdiction beyond inland waters, there are 14,688 Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), covering approximately 10.2% of coastal and marine areas and 4.12% of global ocean areas.[2] In contrast, only 0.25% of the world's oceans beyond national jurisdiction are covered by MPAs.[2][7]

In recent years, the 30 by 30 initiative has targeted to protect 30% of ocean territory and 30% of land territory worldwide by 2030; this has been adopted by the European Union in its Biodiversity Strategy for 2030, Campaign for Nature which promoted the goal during the Convention on Biodiversity's COP15 Summit[8] and the G7.[9] In December 2022, Nations have reached an agreement with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework at the COP15,[10] which includes the 30 by 30 initiative.[7]

Protected areas are implemented for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat and protection from hunting for threatened and endangered species. Protection helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes.[11] Indigenous peoples and local communities frequently criticize this method of fortress conservation for the generally violent processes by which the regulations of the areas are enforced.[12]

  1. ^ Lele, Sharachchandra; Wilshusen, Peter; Brockington, Dan; Seidler, Reinmar; Bawa, Kamaljit (1 May 2010). "Beyond exclusion: alternative approaches to biodiversity conservation in the developing tropics". Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability. 2 (1): 94–100. Bibcode:2010COES....2...94L. doi:10.1016/j.cosust.2010.03.006. ISSN 1877-3435.
  2. ^ a b c "Protected Planet Report 2016" (PDF). UNEP-WCMC and IUCN. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2 September 2016. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  3. ^ Soutullo, Alvaro (2010). "Extent of the Global Network of Terrestrial Protected Areas". Conservation Biology. 24 (2): 362–363. Bibcode:2010ConBi..24..362.. doi:10.1111/j.1523-1739.2010.01465.x. ISSN 1523-1739. PMID 20491846. S2CID 32390446.
  4. ^ "unstats - Millennium Indicators". Archived from the original on 27 September 2017. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
  5. ^ Mora C, Sale P (2011). "Ongoing global biodiversity loss and the need to move beyond protected areas: A review of the technical and practical shortcoming of protected areas on land and sea" (PDF). Marine Ecology Progress Series. 434: 251–266. Bibcode:2011MEPS..434..251M. doi:10.3354/meps09214. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Protected Planet Report 2020". Protected Planet Report 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference Paddison was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Sign the 30x30 Petition Today!". Campaign for Nature.
  9. ^ "G7 commits to end support for coal-fired power stations this year". euronews. 21 May 2021.
  10. ^ Briggs, Helen (19 December 2022). "COP15: Nations reach 'historic' deal to protect nature". BBC News. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
  11. ^ Dudley, N. (ed.) Guidelines for Applying Protected Areas Management Categories (IUCN: Switzerland, 2008)
  12. ^ "Decolonize Conservation". www.survivalinternational.org. Survival International. Retrieved 24 June 2023.