UAE Protected and Conserved Areas: WDPCA Geospatial Records

This geospatial dataset documents marine and terrestrial protected areas and Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) across the United Arab Emirates. Managed by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC) and IUCN, the records are updated monthly to support international biodiversity reporting.

Use Cases

• Calculating the percentage of terrestrial and marine territory under conservation to track Target 3 progress
• Overlaying project boundaries with GeoJSON conservation zones for corporate biodiversity risk screening
• Informing national policy decisions by identifying gaps in the existing network of protected areas

Strengths

• Official data source for tracking UN Sustainable Development Goals
• Available in four GIS-ready formats including GeoJSON and GeoPackage
• Consolidates WDPA and WD-OECM into a single unified framework

Limitations

• Specific attribute column names and record counts are not detailed in the source metadata
• Data accuracy depends on the reporting frequency and precision of national government submissions

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Compiled through the Protected Planet Initiative in collaboration with governments and international secretariats.

Freshness

Updated on a monthly basis to reflect new designations and boundary changes.

Geography

United Arab Emirates