UK data on the extent and condition of protected areas, a key indicator for biodiversity conservation. The dataset was published by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee on behalf of Defra, with the latest data from 2015. It includes terrestrial and marine designations such as Ramsar sites and National Nature Reserves.
Use Cases
- Assessing conservation policy outcomes based on the proportion of features in a 'favourable' or 'recovering' state.
- Analyzing the net extent of protected areas based on mean high water boundaries.
- Tracking changes in protected area coverage based on the inclusion of wider countryside and marine designations from 2014.
- Evaluating the impact of active management on habitat and species persistence within protected sites.
Strengths
- Data underpins one of 24 official UK biodiversity indicators, providing a standardized measure.
- Indicator methodology is detailed in a supporting technical document.
- Includes multiple designation types such as Ramsar sites and National Nature Reserves, added in 2014 and 2015.
Limitations
- Last updated 2026-07-08 13:33:19.503266; freshness should be verified as the latest data point is from 2015.
- Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
- Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- Joint Nature Conservation Committee
- Collection Method
- Monitoring programme initiated in 1998 to evaluate management and policy outcomes; condition assessed on a rolling cycle.
- Time Range
- Latest data for 2015.
- Freshness
- Latest data point is for 2015.
- Geography
- United Kingdom (terrestrial and marine areas).