ProtectedPlanet/WDPCA (FeatureServer)

View In: ArcGIS Online Map Viewer

View Footprint In: ArcGIS Online Map Viewer

Service Description: The World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA) combines the formerly separate World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM). The WDPCA is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures. It is updated on a monthly basis and is one of the key global biodiversity datasets widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, international secretariats, and others to inform planning, policy decisions, and management. The WDPCA is part of the Protected Planet Initiative, a joint product of the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The compilation and management of the WDPCA is carried out by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), in collaboration with governments and other stakeholders. Data and information on the world’s protected and conserved areas compiled in the WDPCA are used for reporting on progress towards Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for 30% of the world’s land and waters to be effectively conserved by 2030. Additionally, the WDPCA is used for reporting to the United Nations to track progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, the tracking of core indicators of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and for providing information for other international assessments and reports including the Global Biodiversity Outlook. UNEP-WCMC and IUCN periodically release the Protected Planet Report on the status of the world’s protected and conserved areas. Many platforms incorporate the WDPCA to provide integrated information to diverse users, including businesses and governments across a range of sectors. For example, the WDPCA is included in the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), an innovative decision-support tool that gives commercial users easy access to up-to-date information that allows them to identify biodiversity risks and opportunities within a project boundary. The reach of the WDPCA is further enhanced by the UN Biodiversity Lab, as well as services developed by other organisations such as Global Forest Watch and the Digital Observatory for Protected Areas. These platforms provide decision-makers with access to monitoring and alert systems that allow whole landscapes to be managed more effectively. Together, these applications of the WDPCA demonstrate the growing value and significance of the Protected Planet initiative.

All Layers and Tables

Has Versioned Data: false

MaxRecordCount: 2000

Supported Query Formats: JSON

Supports Query Data Elements: true

Layers:

WDPCA_point_latest (0)
WDPCA_poly_latest (1)

Tables:

WDPCA_source_latest (2)

Description: The World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA) combines the formerly separate World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM). The WDPCA is the most comprehensive global database of marine and terrestrial protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures, updated on a monthly basis, and is one of the key global biodiversity datasets being widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, international secretariats, and others to inform planning, policy decisions, and management. The WDPCA is part of the Protected Planet Initiative, a joint product of the UN Environment Programme and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The compilation and management of the WDPCA is carried out by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), in collaboration with governments and other stakeholders. Data and information on the world's protected and conserved areas compiled in the WDPCA is used for reporting on progress towards reaching Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which calls for 30% of the world’s land and waters to be effectively conserved by 2030. Additionally, the WDPCA is used for reporting to the UN to track progress towards the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, tracking of core indicators of the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), and providing information for other international assessments and reports including the Global Biodiversity Outlook. UNEP-WCMC and IUCN periodically release the Protected Planet Report on the status of the world's protected and conserved areas. Many platforms are incorporating the WDPCA to provide integrated information to diverse users, including businesses and governments, in a range of sectors. For example, the WDPCA is included in the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT), an innovative decision support tool that gives commercial users easy access to up-to-date information that allows them to identify biodiversity risks and opportunities within a project boundary. The reach of the WDPCA is further enhanced by the UN Biodiversity Lab as well as services developed by other parties, such as the Global Forest Watch and the Digital Observatory for Protected Areas, which provide decision makers with access to monitoring and alert systems that allow whole landscapes to be managed better. Together, these applications of the WDPCA demonstrate the growing value and significance of the Protected Planet initiative.

Service Item Id: 0f87bb7c586d4f158cca1a11faa95329

Copyright Text: UNEP-WCMC and IUCN (2026), Protected Planet: The World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA) [Online], [May 2026], Cambridge, UK.

Spatial Reference: 102100 (3857) LatestVCSWkid(0)

Initial Extent:

Full Extent:

Units: esriMeters

Document Info:

Enable Z Defaults: false

Supports ApplyEdits With Global Ids: false

Support True Curves : true

Only Allow TrueCurve Updates By TrueCurveClients : false

Supports Return Service Edits Option : true

Supports Dynamic Layers: false

Child Resources: Info Query Data Elements Relationships

Supported Operations: Query Query Contingent Values QueryDomains Extract Changes