Photo: Paula Caballero Protected areas are widely recognized as a cornerstone of biodiversity management and sustainable development. A comprehensive, effectively managed and ecologically representative global network of protected areas is crucial to reducing the rate of biodiversity loss. At the end of 2008, over 120,000 protected areas had been established around the World, covering 12.2% of the Earth’s land area, 5.9% of the territorial seas, but only 0.5% of the extraterritorial seas.^[1]

UNDP is supporting the Convention on Biological Diversity’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas by linking protected area management more tightly to the development agenda. UNDP assists countries in the establishment of the governance frameworks needed to strengthen protected areas management at the systems level. Additionally, UNDP helps countries unleash their economic potential by developing sustainable tourism, by promoting the sustainable utilisation of natural resources—such as fish and medicinal plants—and by establishing or improving markets for ecosystem services—such as carbon sequestration or the provision of freshwater.

UNDP’s strategy is to address gaps in protected area management through country-specific interventions that seek to strengthen management of protected areas by addressing existing barriers at systemic, institutional, individual and financial levels. UNDP works through strategic partnerships with governments, private sectors, non-government organizations (NGOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) that build on their respective strengths; this approach aims to mobilize funding and management know-how to strengthen protected areas. UNDP also takes a rights-based approach by ensuring that local communities are treated as partners with clear rights and responsibilities in protected area management. This UNDP investment in protected areas—largely financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)—has led to the creation of 127 new protected areas covering 10.02 million hectares in the period 2006-2010, while an additional 163 protected areas covering 8.6 million hectares are being established.

¹UNEP-WCMC (2008). State of the world’s protected areas: an annual review of global conservation progress.
UNEP-WCMC, Cambridge, UK.

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