Spalding, Mark

This publication provides a much needed and timely tool to assist in the collective effort to find new and better solutions to address the various threats to the marine biological diversity and productivity. It provides evidence-based recommendations on improving and accelerating actions on delivering ocean protection and management through marine protected areas and facilitates the sharing of experiences and lessons learned.

This publication provides a much needed and timely tool to assist in the collective effort to find new and better solutions to address the various threats to the marine biological diversity and productivity. It provides evidence-based recommendations on improving and accelerating actions on delivering ocean protection and management through marine protected areas and facilitates the sharing of experiences and lessons learned.

Extensively illustrated with maps, color photographs, and graphics, this state-of-the-art reference offers a comprehensive and authoritative status report on the world's 100,000 parks, nature reserves, and other land and marine areas currently designated as protected areas. Now covering over 12 percent of the Earth's land surface, protected areas are the great strongholds of biodiversity and landscape conservation.

This UN List is the thirteenth produced since 1962 and the first version to attempt a comprehensive presentation of all the world’s known protected areas. The introductory text presents an analysis and the accompanying CD lists more than 102,000 sites covering 18.8 million sq. km. Significant progress has been made in conserving representative areas of the world’s terrestrial biomes, although some, including Lake Systems and Temperate Grasslands, remain under-represented.