Managing national data on protected areas in the Korea Database on Protected Areas (KDPA)

The CBD Biodiversity Strategic Plan 2011-2020 recognizes the importance of protected areas for biodiversity conservation, including through Aichi Target 11. The World Database on Protected Areas (WDPA) is used for tracking progress toward Target 11 at national level. In the Republic of Korea, protected areas are designated by five different ministries according to 15 laws and protected areas data and information is managed independently, which led to delayed representation in the WDPA. Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea (MOEK) and Korea National Park Service (KNPS) established Korea Database on Protected Area (KDPA) for integrative management of the protected areas database. KDPA enables statistical analysis on protected areas as well as providing basic information of protected areas in Korea including coverage, designation year, protected area types, governance type, and IUCN protected areas management categories. You can find the KDPA at http://www.kdpa.kr.