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  WDPA Marine »

  The WDPA-Marine is dedicated to providing the most comprehensive set of marine protected areas (MPAs) data available. The dataset focuses on MPAs and representation of the diverse species and habitats found in the marine environment. The tools itself features the attributes of each MPA, gives users an advanced search function, provides a viewer through Google Earth and links through to other detailed information such as the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

  Resource Type: Tools / Applications
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  IABIN PATN Data Viewer »

  The Protected Areas Thematic Network brings together the main governmental and non-governmental organisations working on PA data management in the region in order to promote the more effective sharing of information on protected areas within and between the countries of the Americas Hemisphere, building on and contributing to existing global experience in this area through close collaboration with the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas and the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.

  Resource Type: Tools / Applications
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  Global Wilderness (1998) »

  General Data License (excluding WDPA)

  Datasets Available from UNEP-WCMC: Excluding WDPA
  Access to UNEP-WCMC datasets is provided on the understanding that you read and consent to be bound by the Terms and Conditions attached. For the purposes of this Agreement the “Data” comprise any of the spatial data and associated attribute data downloadable from the UNEP-WCMC website, excluding the World Database on Protected Areas.

  Read the data policy here

  Based on the Wilderness Index developed by the Australian Heritage Commission (R. Lesslie, in litt., 30 May 1998). The wilderness value of any given point is essentially a measure of remoteness from human influence and is assessed on the basis of: remoteness from settlement (settled land or points of permanent occupation), from access (constructed vehicle access routes), and apparent naturalness (remoteness from permanent manmade structures) (Lesslie and Maslen, 1995). The analysis is carried out on a grid, using data from the Digital Chart of the World (DCW), and remoteness is measured as a distance from each grid point to the nearest feature of each class within a given radius (generally 30 km). Wilderness value is the sum of standardised values for each indicator class.

  Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
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  KML File of World Heritage Sites »

  This KML layer includes key information on the natural and mixed World Heritage sites that were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as of 7 August 2012. The information comes from the latest version of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA).

  Resource Type: Spatial Data / Maps
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  A handbook for the Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas Registry (2010) »

  Indigenous and Community Conserved Areas (ICCAs) are managed areas that are voluntarily conserved by local or indigenous communities for conservation and cultural purposes. This handbook is intended as a guide for those who wish to learn about ICCAs and the newly developed ICCA Registry tool, which aims to develop awareness, recognition and documented values of ICCAs through a community-supported database, maps and an interactive, multimedia website. Communities who govern and manage ICCAs will find this handbook particularly helpful to understand how they can contribute to and benefit from the Registry if they wish. This handbook adheres to the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and supports the application of bio-cultural community protocols in maintaining the integrity of community knowledge and resources.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Defining Protected Areas International Conference Almeria 2007 »

  The IUCN Summit on Protected Area Management Categories was held in Almeria, Spain in May 2007. It aimed to test the opinions of key thinkers and policy makers regarding the revision of guidelines to interpretation of the six IUCN protected area categories. The meeting was generously supported by the Junta de Andalusia, the Spanish Ministry of Environment and the foundation Biodiversidad. The meeting operated through plenary sessions and a series of specialised workshops, with many presentations and time for detailed discussion. There were two field trips, midway through the meeting and at the end. More than a hundred people attended from over fifty countries around of the world.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Biodiversity priorities for the World Heritage List »

  This study reviews the biogeographic and biodiversity coverage of the current World Heritage network and identifies broad gaps. It also identifies priority sites for biodiversity conservation that may merit World Heritage listing in the future and reviews how these could help fill the existing gaps in the network.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Conservation and sustainable use of tropical trees in the genus Aquilaria II. The impact of gaharu harvesting in Indonesia »

  Aquilaria spp. are the main source of gaharu, one of the most valuable non-timber products harvested from tropical forests. In order to assess the impact of gaharu harvesting on populations of Aquilaria spp. in Indonesia, the activities of gaharu collectors were assessed by accompanying them on collecting expeditions.

  Given current harvesting practices, it is unlikely that gaharu is being sustainably harvested at present. The results suggest that the gaharu trade may have had a substantial impact on the population size of Aquilaria spp. in Indonesia, and their implications are discussed in the context of setting harvest quotas for regulation of trade, as required by CITES.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers
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  Review of the World Heritage Network: Biogeography, Habitats and Biodiversity »

  Over the past 10 years a number of studies and consultations have been carried out to develop and refine the Global Strategy for achieving a balanced, representative and credible World Heritage List that reflects the world’s diverse heritage. This review is an important addition to that process, focusing on the inter-related elements of biogeography, habitats and biological diversity that underpin much of what we consider ‘natural heritage’.

  Resource Type: Reports
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  Non-Timber Forest Products in the Community of El Terrero, Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, Mexico: Is Their Use Sustainable? »

  The importance of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to rural income was examined in a highland community in the Sierra de Manantlán Biosphere Reserve, Jalisco-Colima, Mexico. Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) techniques were used to interview 70 of households in the community of El Terrero. Of the nine plant species identified as NTFP sources, the two principal species traded by the community were tila (derived from the flowers and fruits of the tree Ternstroemia lineata), and blackberry (Rubus spp.). Collecting and selling of NTFPs was almost exclusively undertaken by women, with 80 of respondents participating. NTFP sale ranked as the most important source of cash income for 30 of women interviewed, and either second- or third-most important for the remainder. The research examined harvesting impact on populations of T. lineata, an understory tree species characteristic of cloud forest, which this was assessed in the four most-frequented collecting sites. Our results suggested that current harvesting approaches appear to be sustainable, although 95 of the women interviewed reported a decline in resource availability within the last 15 years, apparently resulting from illegal cutting. Suggestions are made with respect to the sustainable development of NTFP resources to help alleviate poverty within the Reserve.

  Resource Type: Journal Papers