WDPCA: Protected and Conserved Areas in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

UNEP-WCMC maintains this geospatial dataset covering marine and terrestrial protected areas in South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. Updated monthly, it integrates the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM).

Use Cases

• Calculating the total area of conserved marine zones using GEOPACKAGE spatial boundaries
• Assessing biodiversity risk for maritime projects by intersecting project coordinates with protected area polygons
• Reporting on Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework by filtering for specific conservation designations

Strengths

• Monthly update frequency ensures high temporal accuracy
• Official joint product of the UN Environment Programme and IUCN
• Available in multiple formats including GEOJSON, GEOPACKAGE, and GEOSERVICE

Limitations

• Specific attribute column names and row counts are not explicitly provided in the source metadata
• Geographic scope is restricted to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Compiled from reports provided by governments and other stakeholders in collaboration with the IUCN

Freshness

Updated on a monthly basis; last recorded update March 2026.

Geography

South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands