8.1 Protected Area Database
For this analysis, we used the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), which is collaboratively managed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The WDPA is one of the most comprehensive global datasets on terrestrial and marine protected areas, including data on the geographic location, size, legal status, governance, and conservation objectives of each site. Data was sourced from the Protected Planet website, which provides up-to-date and authoritative information through monthly updates supplied by national governments, non-governmental organizations, and other contributing entities (accurate as of January 2024). The dataset uses the IUCN’s protected area categorization to signify which activities are restricted in the area. These areas range from Ia (no extractive or destructive activities allowed) to VI (some extractive or destructive activities allowed). MPAs which were not classified were reported as “Not Reported”, “Not Assigned”, or “Not Applicable” (Table of classifications and breakdown).
From the full dataset, we made several modifications for our analysis. First, we selected marine or coastal MPAs and split cross-jurisdiction MPAs into components so that areas only occupied a single country’s exclusive economic zone (DATABASE). When presented with overlapping management zones (most commonly a “Not Reported” zone overlaid with a ranked zone), we hierarchically selected the area with the highest level of protection to avoid including the same area twice. We further pruned the dataset by removing MPAs that had protections not relevant to kelp forests (e.g., RAMSAR wetland sites, bird sanctuaries) – Data Repository1.
Limitations of the World Database on Protected Areas: Future work should focus on further refining the estimation of protected kelp with MPA categories that not only report the IUCN classifications but also other regulatory classifications that are becoming available for MPAs, such as those from Protected Seas2 and the MPA Atlas3. Adding these classifications is important because IUCN categories are based on management objectives which, in some instances, may not match on-the-ground regulations. These new classifications will also have to be combined with the improved maps of kelp forest habitat. As an example, work in Mexico estimated that less than 1% of observed canopy-forming kelp forests are inside no-take MPAs compared to the 13% of potential kelp habitat classified as IUCN level Ia presented here4.
