WDPCA: Protected and Conserved Areas in Lesotho (Geospatial)

This geospatial dataset documents terrestrial and marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) within Lesotho. Managed by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and IUCN, the data was last updated in March 2026. It serves as the primary evidence base for tracking Lesotho's progress toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3.

Use Cases

• Spatial analysis of conservation coverage to measure progress toward the 30% land protection target
• Environmental impact assessments using GeoJSON boundaries to identify biodiversity risks within project sites
• Integration into the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT) for commercial risk screening

Strengths

• Consolidates WDPA and WD-OECM records into a single unified schema
• Available in four formats including GeoJSON, GeoPackage, and CSV
• Official source used for UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) reporting

Limitations

• Total record count for the Lesotho subset is not specified in the metadata
• Relies on government and stakeholder reporting which may have lag times between designation and database entry

Provenance

Source

UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and IUCN

Collection Method

Compiled from government submissions and stakeholder data as part of the Protected Planet Initiative

Freshness

Updated on a monthly basis at the global level.

Geography

Lesotho