This dataset represents a geographic clip to Africa of the World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA), which is the authoritative and most complete global dataset on terrestrial and marine protected areas. The parent database is a joint initiative between the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), managed by the UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC). Information is submitted and verified by international secretariats, national and regional governments, NGOs, communities, and landowners.

This spatial dataset has been specifically filtered and clipped to include only protected areas located within the terrestrial and marine boundaries of the African continent and its associated island nations.

The dataset comprises both spatial data (GIS boundaries) and attribute data (descriptive information) for protected sites across Africa. Key attributes include site name, designation type (national, regional, or international), governance model, IUCN management category, marine/terrestrial status, and legal establishment date.

The WDPA is the primary global mechanism used to track progress toward international area-based conservation targets. This African subset is widely used across various sectors for:

• Conservation & Science: Ecological research, protected area monitoring, and biodiversity assessments specific to African biomes.
• Corporate & Financial Risk: Environmental impact assessments and supply chain risk analyses for infrastructure and commercial projects operating in Africa.
• Policy & Reporting: Informing national and international decision-making and tracking regional progress toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The global WDPA dataset is updated and released on a monthly basis through the Protected Planet platform. This clip was extracted on May 2026.

Biomes are distinct biological communities (collection of plants and animals) that have formed in response to a shared physical climate. The 11 major terrestrial biomes found in Africa (out of 14 worldwide) are partially covered by Protected Areas. This map shows the percentage of areas protected in each of the terrestrial biomes. For example: in 2020, 12,3% of montane grasslands and shrublands in Africa were covered by Protected Areas.

An intact forest landscape (IFL) is a seamless mosaic of forest and naturally treeless ecosystems with no remotely detected signs of human activity and a minimum area of 500 km2. (Potapov et al.2017) Intact forests are complex and diverse ecosystems that if lost, are irreplaceable. Research shows that designating intact forest landscapes as protected areas has proven effective at limiting their fragmentation. Since 2000, around 100 conserved and protected areas were created in intact forests areas in ACP countries, increasing the percentage of IFL protected from 11% in 2000 to 26% in 2020.

Differences in countries in terms of IFL area reduction: Cuba has not experienced any reduction in IFLs and nowadays its intact forests are fully protected by PAs (544sqkm). At the contrary Angola still not has any kind of protection for its IFLs and experienced a reduction of 39,83% of its IFL (1160 sqkm) in country.The reduction of IFL area in ACP countries was higher outside PAs (19%) than within PAs (5%).Madagascar is the country where the reduction of IFL areas was very high inside protected areas (2420 sqkm). The IFL loss inside PAs has been more than 40% between 2000 and 2020. Central African Republic experienced 23% of reduction inside PAs (938,13 sqkm). This layer shows the percentage of IFLs protected by country

Analysis performed by Simona Lippi

This dataset is an index that estimates the relative value provided by coral reefs that protect coastlines through reduction of wave height and wave energy. The value as of 2014 is modelled as a function of exposed populations and infrastructure that received some level of protection from coastal and barrier reefs, and is described in relative terms, classified by decile (i.e., grouped into the most valuable ten percent of reefs for protection, the second-most valuable tenth of reefs, etc.). It was calculated at 1 kilometre (km) resolution globally, encompassing all countries and territories containing coral reefs.

The Marine Ecoregions of the World is a global system to classify the oceans, helping to plan and prioritise marine conservation measures. How much are marine areas are protected at ecoregion level? For each African marine ecoregion, this map shows the percentage covered by protected areas.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) seeks to encourage the identification, protection and preservation of natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity. This is embodied in an international treaty called the Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, adopted by UNESCO in 1972. What makes the concept of World Heritage exceptional is its universal application. World Heritage sites belong to all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located.

Shapefile showing the location of protected areas in Africa as national parcs and natural reserves.

The African Development Corridors Database (ADCD) is a comprehensive, georeferenced database detailing 79 ongoing and planned investment corridors across Africa, synthesizing data on 184 specific infrastructure projects (railways, ports, pipelines, airports, techno-cities, and industrial parks). Its purpose is to allow for critical assessment of the spatial and temporal impacts of massive infrastructure investments to maximize development opportunities and support the UN Sustainable Development Goals and AU Agenda 2063. The database includes 22 interlinked tabular and spatial attributes with provided sources, which is expected to improve coordination, efficiency, strategic planning, transparency, and impact assessments for governments, investment banks, practitioners, and conservationists, among other stakeholders.

This dataset provides the global geographic distribution of key livestock species—cattle, sheep, and goats—for the year 2010, sourced from the Gridded Livestock of the World (GLW 3) database. Expressed as the total number of animals per pixel at a spatial resolution of 5 minutes of arc, these layers are essential for diverse applications in agricultural socio-economics, food security, environmental impact assessments, and epidemiology.