Data Table 11.1
National and International Protection of Natural Areas, 1994
Source: Protected Areas Data Unit of the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), unpublished data (WCMC, Cambridge, U.K., August 1995).
All protected areas combine natural areas in five World
Conservation Union, formerly the International Union for
Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN),
management categories (areas of at least 1,000 hectares).
Totally protected areas are maintained in a natural state
and are closed to extractive uses. They encompass the
following three management categories:
Category I. Scientific reserves and strict nature reserves
possess outstanding, representative ecosystems. Public
access is generally limited, with only scientific research
and educational use permitted.
Category II. National parks and provincial parks are
relatively large areas of national or international
significance not materially altered by humans. Visitors may
use them for recreation and study.
Category III. Natural monuments and natural landmarks
contain unique geological formations, special animals or
plants, or unusual habitats.
Partially protected areas are areas that may be managed for
specific uses, such as recreation or tourism, or areas that
provide optimum conditions for certain species or
communities of wildlife. Some extractive use within these
areas is allowed. They encompass two management categories:
Category IV. Managed nature reserves and wildlife
sanctuaries are protected for specific purposes, such as
conservation of a significant plant or animal species.
Category V. Protected landscapes and seascapes may be
entirely natural or may include cultural landscapes (e.g.,
scenically attractive agricultural areas).
Nationally protected areas listed in Data Table 11.1 do not
include locally or provincially protected sites, or
privately owned areas.
Protected areas at least 100,000 hectares and 1 million hectares in size refer to all IUCN category I V protected areas that fall within these two classifications. The totals are for single sites, and it is likely that some sites are not contiguous blocks. These data do not account for agglomerations of protected areas that together might exceed 100,000 or 1 million hectares.
International protection systems usually include sites that
are listed under national protection systems. Biosphere
reserves are representative of terrestrial and coastal
environments that have been internationally recognized under
the Man and the Biosphere Programme of the United Nations
Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. They
have been selected for their value to conservation and are
intended to foster the scientific knowledge, skills, and
human values necessary to support sustainable development.
Each reserve must contain a diverse, natural ecosystem of a
specific biogeographical province, large enough to be an
effective conservation unit. For further details, refer to
M. Udvardy, A Classification of the Biogeographical
Provinces of the World (IUCN, Morges, Switzerland, 1975),
and to World Resources 1986, Chapter 6. Each reserve also
must include a minimally disturbed core area for
conservation and research and may be surrounded by buffer
zones where traditional land uses, experimental ecosystem
research, and ecosystem rehabilitation may be permitted.
World heritage sites represent areas of outstanding
universal value for their natural features, their cultural
value, or for both natural and cultural values. The table
includes only natural and mixed natural and cultural sites.
Any party to the World Heritage Convention may nominate
natural sites that contain examples of a major stage of
Earth s evolutionary history; a significant ongoing
geological process; a unique or superlative natural
phenomenon, formation, or feature; or a habitat for a
threatened species. Several countries share world heritage
sites. These sites, referred to as international heritage
sites, are counted only once in continental and world
totals.
Any party to the Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat (Ramsar, Iran, 1971) that agrees to respect a site s integrity and to establish wetland reserves can designate wetlands of international importance.
Data Table 11.2
Globally Threatened Species: Mammals, Birds, and Higher
Plants, 1990s
Sources: World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), Biodiversity Data Sourcebook, (World Conservation Press, Cambridge, U.K., 1994); WCMC, Global Biodiversity Status of the Earth s Living Resources (Chapman and Hall, London, 1992), and unpublished data (WCMC, Cambridge, U.K., July 1995).
The total number of known species may include introductions in some instances. Data on mammals exclude cetaceans (whales and porpoises), except where otherwise indicated. Threatened bird species are listed for countries included within their breeding or wintering ranges. Only flowering plants are listed under total higher plants species numbers.
The number of endemic species refers to those species known
to be found only within the country listed. The number of
total endemic plant species listed for each country includes
flowering plants, ferns, and conifers and cycads.
Figures are not necessarily comparable among countries
because taxonomic concepts and the extent of knowledge vary
(for the latter reason, country totals of species and
endemics may be underestimates). In general, numbers of
mammals and birds are fairly well known, while plants have
not been as well inventoried.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) classifies threatened
and endangered species into six categories:
Endangered. Taxa in danger of extinction and whose survival
is unlikely if the causal factors continue operating.
Vulnerable. Taxa believed likely to move into the
Endangered category in the near future if the causal factors
continue operating.
Rare. Taxa with world populations that are not at present
Endangered or Vulnerable, but are at risk.
Indeterminate. Taxa known to be Endangered, Vulnerable, or
Rare but where there is not enough information to say which
of the three categories is appropriate.
Out of Danger. Taxa formerly included in one of the above categories, but which are now considered relatively secure because effective conservation measures have been taken or the previous threat to their survival has been removed.
Insufficiently Known. Taxa that are suspected but not definitely known to belong to any of the above categories.
The number of threatened species listed for all countries includes full species that are endangered, vulnerable, rare, and indeterminate, but excludes introduced species, species whose status is insufficiently known, or those known to be extinct. Threatened species data for animals, presented in Data Tables 11.2 and 11.3, reflect estimates presented in the World Conservation Union (IUCN), 1994 IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals (IUCN, Gland, 1993). Threatened species data for birds are based on a 1994 Birdlife International assessment, using a new threat assessment methodology. A version of this methodology is currently under review for adoption by IUCN.
Number of species per 10,000 square kilometers provides a
relative estimate for comparing numbers of species among
countries of differing size. Because the relationship
between area and species number is nonlinear (i.e., as the
area sampled increases, the number of new species located
decreases), a species-area curve has been used to
standardize these species numbers. The curve predicts how
many species a country would have, given its current number
of species, if it was a uniform 10,000 square kilometers in
size. This number is calculated using the formula: S = cA z
, where S = the number of endangered species, A = area,
and c and z are constants. The slope of the species-area
curve is determined by the constant z , which is
approximately 0.33 for large areas containing many habitats.
This constant is based on data from previous studies of
species-area relationships. In reality, the constant z
would differ among reg ions and countries, because of
differences in species range size (which tend to be smaller
in the tropics) and differences in varieties of habitats
present. A tropical country with a broad variety of habitats
would be expected to have a steeper species-area curve than
a temperate, homogenous country because one would predict a
greater number of both species and threatened species per
unit area. Species-area curves are also steeper for islands
than for mainland countries. At present, there are
insufficient regional data to estimate separate slopes for
each country.
Data Table 11.3
Globally Threatened Species: Reptiles, Amphibians, and Fish,
1990s
Sources: World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC), Biodiversity Data Sourcebook (World Conservation Press, Cambridge, U.K., 1994); WCMC, Global Biodiversity Status of the Earth s Living Resources (Chapman and Hall, London, 1992), and unpublished data (WCMC, Cambridge, U.K., July 1995 and January 1996).
For definitions of total species , endemic species, and threatened species , refer to the Technical Notes for Data Table 11.2. Threatened marine turtles and marine fish are excluded from country totals. Endangered fish species numbers do not include approximately 250 haplochromine and 2 tilapiine species of Lake Victoria cichlids, since the ranges of these species are undetermined.
The number of species per 10,000 square kilometers provides a relative estimate for comparing numbers of species among countries of differing size. For details, refer to the Technical Notes for Data Table 11.2.
Data Table 11.4
Marine Biodiversity
Sources: Length of marine coastline: United Nations Office
for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, unpublished data
(United Nations, New York, June 1989); U.S. Central
Intelligence Agency, The World Factbook 1994 (U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1994). Shelf
area to 200-meter depth: John P. Albers, M. Devereux Carter,
Allen L. Clark et al., Summary Petroleum and Selected
Mineral Statistics for 120 Countries, Including Offshore
Areas , Geological Survey Professional Paper 817 (U.S.
Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C., 1973).
Exclusive economic zone: United Nations Office for Ocean
Affairs and the Law of the Sea, unpublished data (United
Nations, New York, June 1989). French Polynesia and New
Caledonia: Anthony Bergin, Fisheries Surveillance in the
South Pacific, Ocean & Shoreline Management , Vol. 11
(1988), p. 468. Marine species data: World Conservation
Monitoring Centre, Biodiversity Data Sourcebook (World
Conservation Press, Cambridge, U.K., 1994); Thomas
Jefferson, Stephen Leatherwood, and Marc Webber, Marine
Mammals of the World (United Nations Environment Programme
and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, Rome, 1993). Marine protected areas: Great Barrier
Reef Marine Park Authority, unpublished data (Canberra,
Australia, 1995); Graeme Kelleher, Chris Bleakley, and Sue
Wells, eds., A Global Representative System of Marine
Protected Areas , Vol. I, (The Great Barrier Reef Marine
Park Authority, The World Bank, and the World Conservation
Union (IUCN), Washington, D.C., 1995).
The United Nations Office for Ocean Affairs and the Law of
the Sea compiles information concerning coastal claims from
the following sources: the United Nations Legislative
Series, official gazettes, communications to the Secretary
General, legal journals, and other publications. National
claims to maritime zones fall into five categories:
territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone
(EEZ), exclusive fishing zone, and continental shelf. The
extent of the continental shelf to 200-meter depth and the
exclusive economic zone for those countries with marine
coastline are presented in the table. Only the potential and
not the actual established area of the EEZ is shown.
Under currently recognized international principles, an EEZ may be established by a nation out to 200 nautical miles to claim all the resources within the zone, including fish and all other living resources; minerals; and energy from wind, waves, and tides. Nations may also claim rights to regulate scientific exploration, protect the marine environment, and establish marine terminals and artificial islands. The EEZ data shown do not reflect the decisions of some countries, such as those in the European Community, to collectively manage fishing zones on EEZs in some areas. When countries EEZs overlap such as those of the United States and Cuba, which both have 200-mile EEZs, yet are only 90 miles apart they must agree on a maritime boundary between them, often a halfway point.
Total number of known coastal marine species includes fish recorded within coastal waters, turtles loggerhead, green turtle, leatherback, hawksbill turtle, Kemp s ridley, and olive ridley recorded to nest along national shorelines; and several categories of mammal species: cetaceans (whales, porpoises, and dolphins) restricted to nearshore waters, seals, sea lions, dugongs, manatees, otters, and polar bears.
Threatened coastal marine mammal species includes full species that are listed by the World Conservation Union as endangered, vulnerable, and rare, and those whose status is classified as indeterminate. It excludes species whose status is insufficiently known, and species known to be extinct. For details of these threatened classifications, refer to the Technical Notes to Data Table 11.2. Total and threatened mammal species data do not include a large number of cetacean species that range outside of nearshore waters.
Only two types of marine habitats are listed within Data Table 11.4: mangroves and coral reefs . Information on mangrove and coral reef extent was culled by WCMC from numerous sources; therefore country totals are not comparable as data are for various years, and data quality varies.
Marine protected areas (MPAs) list nationally protected areas with a sub-tidal component. Total area listed may include terrestrial portions of MPA sites. A number of these sites are also internationally protected areas (Ramsar sites, biosphere reserves, and world heritage sites). For further details on protected area classification, refer to the Technical Notes to Data Table 11.1. National and regional totals include all MPAs for which geographic (last/long) coordinates are available. Global totals also include 17 sites in Antarctica, and 16 sites for which geographic coordinates were not available.
MPA data come from a global assessment conducted by the
World Bank, IUCN, and The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park
Authority of existing protected areas, and priorities for
future protection. Regional priority sites were selected
according to eight criteria: i) biogeographic
representativeness (the degree to which sites offer
protection to ecosystem types otherwise underrepresented
within the global marine protected area network); ii)
ecological criteria that relate to size, integrity, and
conservation importance; iii) naturalness; iv) economic
importance (e.g., nursery areas for economically important
species); v) social importance, such as sites of cultural,
historical and educational value; vi) scientific
importance; vii) international or national significance
(e.g., potential to be listed as a biosphere reserve); and
viii) the degree to which it is practical or feasible to
create or maintain a protected area within the site, given
existing pressures and management and socio - political
constraints. Proposed regional priority sites are excluded
from data presented in this table.