WDPCA: Protected and Conserved Areas in the US Virgin Islands

This geospatial dataset provides boundaries and metadata for marine and terrestrial protected areas in the United States Virgin Islands, compiled by the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). It integrates the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) and the World Database on Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (WD-OECM) as of March 2026. The data is updated on a monthly basis to support international biodiversity reporting and conservation planning.

Use Cases

• Mapping biodiversity risks within project boundaries using geospatial coordinates
• Reporting on progress toward Target 3 of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework
• Tracking Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) indicators for land and water conservation

Strengths

• Official UN-backed data source from UNEP-WCMC and IUCN
• Includes both WDPA and WD-OECM categories in a single file
• Available in four formats including GeoJSON and GeoPackage

Limitations

• Specific record counts and column definitions are not provided in the source metadata
• Geographic scope is strictly limited to the United States Virgin Islands
• Relies on reporting from local governments and stakeholders which may have varying lag times

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

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

Freshness

Updated monthly; current version reflects data as of March 2026.

Geography

United States Virgin Islands