For centuries, protected areas have been an integral part, our landscapes, forests and seascape ecosystems and have played a vital role in conserving biodiversity and the ecosystem services on which many communities depend. Protected and Conserved Areas (PCAs) are crucial for preserving the planet's biodiversity and ensuring sustainable futures. Globally, they play an irreplaceable role in abating the rapid loss of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Besides protecting biodiversity, they protect watersheds, control erosion, reduce the impacts of disasters such as floods and landslides, and play a significant role in carbon sequestration. They additionally assist to enhance food security, provide medicines and income for local communities, and are often of great cultural and spiritual significance to tens of thousands of people throughout Africa.

However, they bring unique challenges and complexities that have to be addressed. One of the key roles and major success stories that Regional Centre for Mapping of Resources for Development (RCMRD) undertakes in the Regional Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity, Forests and Seascape Ecosystems Management in Eastern and Southern Africa project, is to support the countries in mapping of their protected and conserved areas and compiling the relevant statistics based on the information provided.

In collaboration with UNEP-WCMC, RCMRD has been providing support in updating protected areas in the Eastern and Southern Africa region. These updates are eventually shared on the world database of protected areas (WDPA). The update requires constant communication with the relevant national focal points and after a series of exchanges, the countries share their data which is collated, cleaned and ultimately updated the protected areas database.

The RCoE Data Geoportal accessible at: https://rcoe-geoportal.rcmrd.org/ provides open access to essential data for biodiversity, forests and seascape conservation in Eastern and Southern Africa. It is an important resource for governments, conservationists, researchers, and communities.

The map shows the data updates for each country in the SADC region as at February 2025.

For more information, please contact: Michael Ngugi Kimani on mkimani[at]rcmrd[dot]org