List of largest protected areas
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Ymers_Island%28js%295.jpg/250px-Ymers_Island%28js%295.jpg)
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (March 2023) |
The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is compiled and managed by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, an executive agency of the United Nations Environment Programme.[1] It uses the IUCN and CBD definitions of protected areas to determine whether a site should be included in the WDPA.[2] The extent to which each area and the resources within are protected can vary significantly.
The largest protected areas – those exceeding an area of 250,000 square kilometres – are listed below in order of total area protected.[3] All are marine protected areas except for Northeast Greenland National Park – which is mostly terrestrial but also has a marine component – and three entirely terrestrial biosphere reserves in Brazil. Protected areas with multiple coterminous or overlapping designations (e.g. Northeast Greenland National Park and the corresponding Biosphere Reserve) are listed only once.
Currently, Marae Moana is the largest protected area in the world with a total area larger than Mexico (1,964,375 km2).
Largest protected areas of the world
Rank | Name | Country | Location | Size (km2) | Year | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Marae Moana | ![]() | Cook Islands | 1,976,000 | 2017 | [4] |
2 | French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve | ![]() | French Southern and Antarctic Lands | 1,600,000 | 2016 | [5] |
3 | Ross Sea Region Marine Protected Area | ![]() | Ross Sea | 1,550,000 | 2016 | [6][7] |
4 | Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument | ![]() | Hawaii and Midway Atoll | 1,508,846 | 2006 | [8] |
5 | Natural Park of the Coral Sea | ![]() | New Caledonia | 1,292,967 | 2014 | [9] |
6 | Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument | ![]() | Central Pacific Ocean | 1,270,480 | 2009 | [10] |
7 | South Georgia Marine Protected Area | ![]() | South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands | 1,240,000 | 2012 | [11] |
8 | Coral Sea Marine Park | ![]() | Coral Sea | 989,836 | 2018 | [12][13] |
9 | Protection zone around the French Southern Territories National Nature Reserve | ![]() | French Southern and Antarctic Lands | 989,787 | 2017 | [14] |
10 | Northeast Greenland National Park | ![]() | Northeast Greenland | 972,000 | 1974 | [15] |
11 | Steller Sea Lion Protection Areas | ![]() | Alaska | 869,206 | 2002 | [16] |
12 | Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve | ![]() | Pitcairn Islands | 834,334 | 2016 | [17] |
13 | British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area | ![]() | British Indian Ocean Territory (disputed by Mauritius) | 640,000 | 2010 | [18] |
14 | Rapa Nui Marine and Coastal Protected Area | ![]() | Rapa Nui | 579,368 | 2018 | [19] |
15 | Palau National Marine Sanctuary | ![]() | Palau | 502,538 | 2015 | [20][21] |
16 | Kermadec Benthic Protection Area | ![]() | Kermadec Islands | 469,276 | 2007 | |
17 | Ascension Exclusive Economic Zone | ![]() | Ascension Island | 440,000 | 2019 | [22] |
18 | Phoenix Islands Protected Area | ![]() | Phoenix Islands | 408,250 | 2006 | [23] |
19 | Trindade and Martin Vaz Archipelago Environmental Protection Area | ![]() | Trindade and Martin Vaz | 403,848 | 2018 | [24] |
20 | Pacific Biosphere Reserve | ![]() | Eastern Pacific Ocean | 390,091 | 2016 | [25] |
21 | Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago Environmental Protection Area | ![]() | Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago | 384,565 | 2018 | [26] |
22 | Great Barrier Reef Marine Park | ![]() | Great Barrier Reef | 348,700 | 1981 | [27] |
23 | Offshore Trap/Pot Waters Area | ![]() | Western Atlantic Ocean | 336,101 | 1997 | [28] |
24 | Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area | ![]() | Ellesmere Island | 319,411 | 2019 | [29] |
25 | Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park | ![]() | Desventuradas Islands | 300,035 | 2016 | [30][31] |
26 | Cerrado Biosphere Reserve | ![]() | Goiás, Maranhão, Piauí, Tocantins, and Federal District | 296,525 | 1994 | [32] |
27 | Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve | ![]() | Atlantic Forest (15 states) | 294,734 | 1993 | [33][34] |
28 | Pantanal Biosphere Reserve | ![]() | Goiás, Mato Grosso, and Mato Grosso do Sul | 251,569 | 2000 | [35] |
References
- ^ "World Database on Protected Areas". Protected Planet. UNEP-WCMC. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "World Database on Protected Areas User Manual 1.5" (PDF). Cambridge, UK: UNEP-WCMC. 2017. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "October update of the WDPA". Protected Planet. UNEP-WCMC. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Cook Islands Marine Park". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Emmanuel Macron annonce l'extension de la réserve naturelle des Terres australes françaises, la deuxième plus grande au monde" (in French). French Overseas Ministry. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
- ^ Slezak, Michael (2016-10-27). "World's largest marine park created in Ross Sea in Antarctica in landmark deal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ Trade, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and. "Ross Sea region Marine Protected Area". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Natural Park of the Coral Sea". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Marine Protected Area". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Coral Sea Marine Park Management Plan 2018" (PDF). Parks Australia. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "Coral Sea Marine Park Management Plan 2018" (PDF). Parks Australia. Retrieved July 15, 2018.
- ^ "A very large Marine Protected Area is created in the Southern Ocean by France". Agreement on the Conservation of Albatrosses and Petrels. 24 April 2017. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "North-East Greenland". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures". National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Regional Office. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Pitcairn Islands Marine Reserve". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area (Chagos)". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Rapa Nui". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Palau National Marine Sanctuary". Global Island Partnership. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Palau National Marine Sanctuary". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Ascension Exclusive Economic Zone". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Phoenix Islands Protected Area". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Área De Proteção Ambiental Do Arquipélago De Trindade E Martim Vaz". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Four protected areas announced in Cancún". Mexico News Daily. 6 December 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Área De Proteção Ambiental Do Arquipélago De São Pedro E São Paulo". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Commonwealth Marine Protected Areas by Type (2016) (refer 'Detailed list' tab for 'Great Barrier Reef' breakdown)". CAPAD 2016. Australian government. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ "Offshore Trap/Pot Waters Area" (PDF). National Marine Fisheries Service, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. 1 June 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (2019-09-18). "Tuvaijuittuq Marine Protected Area (MPA)". www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca. Retrieved 2020-09-24.
- ^ "Chilean government officially decrees the creation of the Nazca-Desventuradas Marine Park" (Press release). Santiago: Oceana. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "Nazca-Desventuradas". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Cerrado Biosphere Reserve, Brazil". UNESCO. 2019-02-14. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "UNESCO - MAB Biosphere Reserves Directory". www.unesco.org. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Mata Atlântica (including Sao Paulo Green Belt)". Protected Planet. Retrieved 2020-09-25.
- ^ "Pantanal Biosphere Reserve, Brazil". UNESCO. 2019-02-15. Retrieved 2020-09-25.