Protected Area Information
The Australian Government collects information from state and territory Governments and other protected area managers about the location and management of protected areas across Australia. This information is collated and stored as the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database.
It is mainly used to provide a national perspective of the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas. It also allows Australia to regularly report on the status of protected areas to meet international obligations such as those in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Australian protected area information is also included in the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA).
Through the Directions for the National Reserve System all the state and territory Governments and the Australian Government have agreed to adopt international standards for the definition of a protected area and allocating management categories used by the IUCN.
Collaborative Australia Protected Area Database (CAPAD)
CAPAD is both a textual and spatial database compiled from information supplied by the Australian, state and territory Governments and other protected area managers. CAPAD has information for 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, and 2006. The process for gathering and collating information for 2008 is about to commence.
Information available for CAPAD editions
| Year | Terrestrial | Marine | IBRA | IBRA Subregions | IMCRA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | |||||
| 2000 | |||||
| 2002 | |||||
| 2004 | |||||
| 2006 |
The textual data in tabular format is available to all clients accessing this web-site and can be downloaded in MsExcel format. This information is provided as a national spreadsheet and split into state and territory spreadsheets.
The spatial data is not freely available; access is subject to a license agreement. The information is available in Arc Info or ArcGIS format. To seek access to this information please contact the NRS (nrs@environment.gov.au) stating the proposed use of the information. Specific approval is required if the spatial information is to be used for commercial purposes.
CAPAD information
CAPAD is presented summarising information at a national, state and territory level. For each grouping CAPAD includes information about the following: (IBRA statistics only apply to Terrestrial Protected Areas):
- List of all protected areas. This list includes information on IUCN category, location (latitude and longitude of mid-point (centroid)), area (hectares) and gazettal date (the year an area was declared a protected area).
- Protected areas classified according to reservation type designations eg National Park, Conservation Covenant, Indigenous Protected Area.
- Protected areas classified according to IUCN management categories eg. Number of designated Category III protected areas in NSW.
- Protected areas classified according to type designations as a proportion of IBRA (Version 6.1) regions. For example, the number of type designations within the Victorian Midlands (VM) IBRA region in Victoria and the percentage of those types of Protected Areas within that region.
- Protected areas classified according to IUCN management categories as a proportion of IBRA region eg. Number of Category II protected areas in Queensland and the percentage of those IUCN categories within the Queensland IBRA regions.
- The level of protection of IBRA regions for all additions of CAPAD.
- The level of protection of IBRA subregions new in 2006.
- Protected Areas classified according to governance e.g. government, local government, indigenous, private new in 2006.
World Database on Protected Areas
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is compiled from multiple sources and is the most comprehensive global dataset on marine and terrestrial protected areas available. It is a joint venture of UNEP and IUCN, produced by UNEP-WCMC and the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (IUCN-WCPA) working with governments and collaborating NGOs.
With permission from the data providers the information in CAPAD is provided to the World Database on Protected Areas to assist in measuring progress toward global goals and targets.
Abbreviations
Abbreviations have been used in order to reduce size of the data and to improve formatting to improve viewing on web pages. Full descriptions of the abbreviations are available below:
- Protected Areas Types and abbreviations
- IBRA Region Descriptions and Codes
- IBRA subregion Descriptions and Codes (XLS - 56KB)
- IUCN Management Categories Descriptions and Codes
- Governance Descriptions and Codes (Word - 29KB)