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Forests

Protected areas

WDPA / Protected Planet: parks, reserves, and other protected polygons: coverage on paper, not always protection on the ground.

Our World in Data green choropleth of the share of each country’s land that is reported as protected
UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, World Database on Protected Areas (Protected Planet). 2024.
Forests 2024 WDPA

The World Database on Protected Areas, maintained by UNEP-WCMC and IUCN and shown on Protected Planet, is the global inventory of terrestrial and marine protected areas. It is the standard layer governments and researchers cite.

Source

UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, World Database on Protected Areas (Protected Planet)
Vintage: 2024
https://www.protectedplanet.net/

License

WDPA has specific terms: you may view and cite; full redistribution of the database has restrictions. We host a cropped Our World in Data map export (CC BY) of terrestrial protected-area share and link to Protected Planet rather than shipping WDPA polygons.

How to read it

A green polygon is a reported designation (IUCN categories I-VI and other measures). Overlaps, paper parks, and missing indigenous territories are common. Area protected is not the same as intact habitat.

Caveats

Reporting lags. Some countries list almost everything; others list little. Hunting, roads, and mining still happen inside lines. Complementary layers (OECM, indigenous lands) are incomplete.

Open source map →