November 2024 update of the WDPA, WD-OECM and GD-PAME

The total number of records in the November 2024 release of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is 305,192 (303,309 protected areas), comprising 293,253 polygons and 11,939 points and covering 244 countries and territories.

The total number of records in the November 2024 release of the World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) is 6,484 (6,463 OECMs), comprising 6,342 polygons and 142 points and covering 15 countries and territories.

In addition, 75 assessment records were added from Peru in the November 2024 release of the Global Database on Protected Area Management Effectiveness (GD-PAME).

In October 2024, UNEP-WCMC transitioned to using a more detailed global base map and geodesic area calculations in WGS 1984 to generate global and national coverage statistics (the previous approach used Mollweide). These changes have introduced more accuracy to the coverage statistics we produce at the global and national level, especially at the poles and for small islands. In November 2024, total and marine area values at the site level were recalculated to enhance reporting accuracy. This update enabled the reclassification of a small number of marine protected and conserved areas that had previously been reported as terrestrial protected and conserved areas.

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Highlights:

Belize: Complete update of Belize's nationally designated protected areas. 7 new sites were added to the WDPA (all polygon format). 8 sites were removed from the WDPA (all polygon format). 26 sites previously reported to the WDPA were updated or verified as being accurate (all polygon format).

Bhutan: Partial update of Bhutan's conserved area network (OECMs), with the spatial and tabular data for 11 existing OECMs and 21 protected areas (national designations) updated or verified as being accurate (all polygon format).

Peru: Partial update for Peru, with the addition of one new protected area and updates to the tabular data of one further site (both polygon format). In addition, 75 new protected area management effectiveness assessments (PAME) for sites in Peru were reported to GD-PAME.

Updated: Modifications/updates of the geometry and/or attributes of existing features in the WDPA or WD-OECM (i.e. features with existing WDPAIDs). Also covers features that have been verified as accurate (i.e. no changes need to be made)

Removed: Number of features removed from the WDPA or WD-OECM (i.e. WDPAIDs removed from the databases).

Added: Number of features added to the WDPA or WD-OECM (i.e. new WDPAIDs created).

Map of protected areas and OECMs:

Citation: UNEP-WCMC (2024). Protected areas map of the world, November 2024. Available at: www.protectedplanet.net

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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.