IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA)

Protected areas are an essential part of biodiversity, geodiversity and landscape conservation strategies. In France, protected areas cover nearly 20% of land area and involve numerous stakeholders. This publication describes the French system of protected areas. We hope it will help the reader better understand the essential contribution of these mechanisms to the protection of France's natural heritage, land management and, more broadly, sustainable development. 

La presente publicación argumenta que una gobernanza que es apropriada al contexto y de buena calidad es de crucial importancia para la conservación eficaz y equitativa. Esto aplica a todos los tipos de áreas protegidas y otras áreas de conservación en ambientes terrestres, costeros, marinos y en aguas continentales. 

Cette publication affirme qu'une gouvernance qui est à la fois adaptée au contexte et bonne est essentielle pour une conservation efficace et équitable. Cela s'applique à tous les types d'aires protégées et autres zones conservées dans des environnements terrestres, côtiers, marins et dans les eaux intérieures. 

Las áreas bajo protección privada merecen un reconocimiento y respaldo mucho mayores que el que reciben en este momento.

Privately protected areas deserve far greater recognition and support than is the case at the moment. Private conservation efforts can often fill important gaps in national policies in terms of both geographic cover and speed of response to conservation challenges, yet they remain a hidden resource: ignored by governments, omitted from international conservation reporting mechanisms and left out of regional conservation strategies.

IUCN’s Protected Areas Management Categories, which classify protected areas according to their management objectives, are today accepted as the benchmark for defining, recording and classifying protected areas.They are recognized by international bodies such as the United Nations as well as many national governments. As a result, they are increasingly being incorporated into government legislation.

As our cities continue to grow, we should defend the protection of natural areas and even try to create new space for nature within this urban fabric. This volume explains the context and concept of urban protected areas, profiles urban protected areas in 15 metropolitan areas around the world, and offers best practice guidelines.

La Lista de Patrimonio Mundial incluye 156 sitios que explícitamente son reconocidos por sus excepcionales valores en biodiversidad, y representan todos los principales ecosistemas del mundo. Sin embargo, aún existen áreas de excepcionales valores en biodiversidad que todavía no son parte de esta red de ‘sitios de Patrimonio Mundial por su biodiversidad’. Para abordar este tema, la UICN y el PNUMA-WCMC han creado este estudio temático global, con un enfoque en el ámbito terrestre.

The marine World Heritage thematic study was written to provide guidance to States Parties and conservation practitioners on how to best apply the World Heritage Convention in the oceans and seas. The study proposes a scientific framework as the foundation for a well-balanced and representative set of features that may be of Outstanding Universal Value to inform choices when nominating or inscribing sites.