Maintaining up-to-date data on the protected areas globally is essential for supporting better planning and decision-making at all levels, from local to international. Reliable protected area data also informs the implementation of the Convention on Biological Diversity decisions, including actions associated with national strategies and protected area targets. Furthermore, accurate data supports national state of the environment reporting and contributes to tracking progress against the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is the most comprehensive global spatial dataset on terrestrial and marine protected areas. BIOPAMA, in collaboration with UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Center (UNEP-WCMC) and regional partners aim at updating the protected area data from the 79 African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, and build the capacity of stakeholders to update their data in WDPA.

Watch this webinar organised by BIOPAMA Eastern and Southern Africa on how to do country updates and the importance of ensuring all data is up-to-date.

More BIOPAMA webinars and video resources are available on BIOPAMA’s Youtube channel.