Palau Protected and Conserved Areas: Marine and Terrestrial Boundaries

This geospatial dataset provides boundaries and attributes for marine and terrestrial protected areas and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) in Palau. Managed by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) as part of the Protected Planet Initiative, the data is updated on a monthly basis to support international biodiversity reporting. It serves as the primary source for tracking Palau's progress toward the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework Target 3.

Use Cases

• Calculating the total percentage of Palau's territory under conservation using geospatial boundary polygons
• Identifying biodiversity risks within project boundaries by overlaying area polygons with development sites
• Monitoring land-use changes within protected area coordinates using Global Forest Watch integration

Strengths

• Official data source for UN Sustainable Development Goal tracking
• Available in four formats including GEOJSON and GEOPACKAGE
• Standardized under the CC-BY-IGO license for international interoperability

Limitations

• Geographic scope is restricted to Palau
• Specific attribute column names are not defined in the source metadata
• Relies on government and stakeholder reporting frequency for accuracy

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Compiled from government submissions and stakeholder data through the Protected Planet Initiative

Freshness

Updated monthly as part of the global WDPCA maintenance cycle.

Geography

Palau