The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is compiled from multiple sources and is the most comprehensive global dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available. It is a joint venture of UNEP and IUCN, produced by UNEP-WCMC and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA) working with governments and collaborating NGOs.

The WDPA plays a critical role in measuring progress toward global goals and targets and will function "...as a key support mechanism in the assessment and monitoring of protected area status and trends taking into account paragraph 4 of decision VI/7 C of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, as well as national and regional databases on protected areas..."

The WDPA stores key information about protected areas such as name, designation or convention, total area (including marine area), date of establishment, legal status and IUCN Protected Areas Management Category. It also stores the spatial boundary and/or location (where available) for each protected area in a Geographical Information System (GIS). The online WDPA allows users to search by protected area name, country, and international programme or convention.

As part of our commitment to the global conservation community and on behalf of our partners, the WDPA has been made available to download in the public domain under the principals of Conservation Commons. The overarching goal of these principles is to make data more freely available to improve conservation.

The 'WDPA 2007 web-download', contains the December 2007 version of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA). It is provided as a series of Geographic Information System (GIS) layers (shapefiles) with related site information. Please see the Download page for more information.

Over the last 12 months UNEP-WCMC, supported by the Proteus Partnership, has been redeveloping the World Database on Protected Areas. Using the latest GIS, web and database technologies the WDPA has been extensively redesigned into a web-enabled spatial database platform with custom data editing, downloading and analysis facilities. Over the course of the next 16 months, the opportunities to interact with the new WDPA will be slowly unveiled - SO WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!

WDPA Working in Support of Global and Regional Assessments

In addition to supporting the production of the periodic UN List, the data in the WDPA has been used, and continues to be used, to support a number of global and regional assessments, including:

• Global Environment Outlook (ongoing)
• Global Biodiversity Outlook (ongoing)
• World Resources Report (ongoing)
• Protected area and thematic studies for the World Heritage Convention (ongoing)
• Millennium Development Goals (ongoing)
• Protected areas information support for the Ninth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 9) and IUCN World Conservation Congress October 2008
• Protected areas information support for the activities of the Working Group on Protected Areas for the Convention on Biological Diversity (ongoing)
• Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
• Protected areas information support for the Vth World Parks Congress (2003)
• Mountain Watch Study (2002)
• Prioritisation of Target Areas For Forest Restoration (Report to WWF, 2000)
• European Forests and Protected Areas: Gap Analysis (2000)
• FAO Global Forest Resource Assessment (2000)
• WWF Forest for Life Campaign and Living Waters Campaign (1996/1998)
• Biodiversity Conservation in the Tropics: Gaps in Habitat Protection and Funding Priorities (1997)
• Circumpolar Protected Areas Network (CPAN) – Strategy and Action Plan (1996)

The databases held by UNEP-WCMC are frequently used in international oil spill emergency response action and contingency planning.