Measuring the extent of overlaps in protected area designations

Abstract

Over the past decades, a number of national policies and international conventions have been implemented to promote the expansion of the world’s protected area network, leading to a diversification of protected area strategies, types and designations. As a result, many areas are protected by more than one convention, legal instrument, or other effective means which may result in a lack of clarity around the governance and management regimes of particular locations. We assess the degree to which different designations overlap at global, regional and national levels to understand the extent of this phenomenon at different scales. We then compare the distribution and coverage of these multi-designated areas in the terrestrial and marine realms at the global level and among different regions, and we present the percentage of each county’s protected area extent that is under more than one designation. Our findings show that almost a quarter of the world’s protected area network is protected through more than one designation. In fact, we have documented up to eight overlapping designations. These overlaps in protected area designations occur in every region of the world, both in the terrestrial and marine realms, but are more common in the terrestrial realm and in some regions, notably Europe. In the terrestrial realm, the most common overlap is between one national and one international designation. In the marine realm, the most common overlap is between any two national designations. Multi-designations are therefore a widespread phenomenon but its implications are not well understood. This analysis identifies, for the first time, multi-designated areas across all designation types. This is a key step to understand how these areas are managed and governed to then move towards integrated and collaborative approaches that consider the different management and conservation objectives of each designation.

Efficacité Des Aires Protégées Dans La Conservation D’habitats Favorables Prioritaires De Ligneux De Valeur Au Bénin

“…Selon la Liste des Nations unies, le monde compte 209 429 aires protégées, avec une couverture totale de 32 868 673 km 2 (soit une superficie plus grande que l'Afrique), représentant 3,41 % des zones marines et 14,0 % des zones terrestres, soit 15,4 % de la superficie totale terrestre si l'on exclut l'Antarctique (Deguignet et al, 2014). Cependant, les investigations récentes sur l'efficacité des aires protégées ont révélé que, malgré l'extension géogra-phique de la couverture de ces aires, celles-ci n'assuraient pas la protection nécessaire aux espèces, écosystèmes et sites clés (Butchart et al, 2015).…”

Scientific research in Neotropical protected areas: themes and gaps

“…Protected areas (PAs) currently cover approximately 14% of the world's land masses 47 (Deguignet M. et al, 2014). Their main aim is to conserve nature over time, protecting 48 ecosystems and cultural values (Leverington et al, 2010).…”

Adaptive co-management as an approach to tourism destination governance – a case of protected areas in Bangladesh

“…The rate of establishing new protected areas around the world has recently increased (Bushell & Bricker, 2017;Deguignet et al, 2014;IUCN, 2014;Stone & Nyaupane, 2016). The main objective of establishing these protected areas is to promote conservation and protection of natural and associated cultural resources of these areas.…”

“…Effective and efficient management systems of these protected areas are identified as crucial means for achieving the objectives of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (IUCN, 2017). Currently there are approximately 210,000 protected areas around the world, covering 14.6% of the total land area and 3.41% of the marine areas (Deguignet et al, 2014). The establishment and expansion of protected areas is fundamental to offset the intense loss of biodiversity (Liu, Ouyang, & Miao, 2010).…”

“…Protected areas, such as national parks and wilderness areas now cover more than 15.4 per cent of the Earth's surface and are often important locations for tourism activity (Deguignet et al, 2014;Eagles et al, 2002). However, the challenge arises as tourism takes place in important reserves of natural and cultural heritage which are dedicated to the conservation of species, ecosystems and landscapes.…”