WDPCA: Protected and Conserved Areas in South Sudan (2026 Update)

Geospatial boundaries and metadata for protected areas in South Sudan are provided by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) as of March 2026. The data integrates terrestrial and marine protected area records with other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) to support international biodiversity reporting.

Use Cases

• Calculating the percentage of South Sudan's territory under conservation using the provided spatial polygons
• Identifying biodiversity risks for infrastructure projects by overlaying site coordinates with protected area boundaries
• Tracking environmental indicators for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) using the designated conservation status of specific regions

Strengths

• Consolidates both WDPA and WD-OECM records into a single source
• Provided in multiple GIS-ready formats including GeoJSON, GeoPackage, and GeoService
• Official data source for the UN Biodiversity Lab and the Protected Planet Initiative

Limitations

• Specific record counts and column definitions are not provided in the source metadata
• Data accuracy is dependent on the reporting frequency and precision of national government agencies

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Compiled from government reports and stakeholder submissions

Freshness

Updated monthly at the global level; this extract is dated March 2026.

Geography

South Sudan