K4: Extent and condition of terrestrial and marine protected areas in the UK Overseas Territories
Short Description
The UK Overseas Territories (UKOTs) are home to a variety of spectacular and often unique marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Protected areas are a key tool for conserving the globally significant and, in many cases endemic, biodiversity found in the Territories. This indicator will have 2 components: (a) extent and (b) condition of UKOT protected areas. It will show changes in the coverage of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) across the UKOTs, from a 2020 baseline. The baseline is calculated using UKOT protected area extent data provided by UKOT governments. The areas are aggregated across UKOTs and geographical regions and percent coverage is calculated for the land and marine environments separately. The indicator will also demonstrate the condition of protected areas in the UKOTs, using aspects of protected area condition that can be assessed cost-effectively.
Readiness and links to data
This indicator is not available for reporting in 2024 in a finalised form. An interim indicator is presented here that shows the extent of protected areas and OECMs across the UKOTs. Information on how the data have been obtained and how the statistics have been calculated is available in JNCC Report Number 760.
Detailed statistics, including a breakdown of protected area coverage for each UKOT, is available on the JNCC website
Development of the condition aspect of this indicator is continuing, exploring options for assessing marine and terrestrial protected area condition and using 6 UKOTs as case studies.
In September 2023 the Office for Statistics Regulation updated their guidance surrounding experimental statistics and renamed them official statistics in development. In accordance with the updated guidance, we have removed the experimental statistics label from this indicator. We would welcome any feedback on these statistics, particularly on their usefulness and value, via 25YEPindicators@defra.gov.uk.
Notes on indicator
‘All UKOTs’ (results presented in bold on the chart) includes 13 UK Overseas Territories; the British Antarctic Territory is not included since Antarctic protection is delivered through the Antarctic Treaty System. ‘ Mediterranean’ includes the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia and Gibraltar. ‘Indian and Pacific Oceans’ includes British Indian Ocean Territory and Pitcairn Islands group. ‘South Atlantic’ includes the Falkland Islands, St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. ‘Wider Caribbean’ includes Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Montserrat, and Turks and Caicos Islands.
The indicator includes protected areas and OECMs formally established up to and during December 2023, where these are implemented for and/or deliver biodiversity conservation. There is a wide range of protected area designation types within and across the UKOTs; the data reported represent the UKOT governments’ views on the composition of their respective protected area networks. Extent is measured using the outer boundaries of sites; the indicator does not assess the extent of management measures within protected areas and OECMs. UK Hydrographic Office data are used to map UK Overseas Territories’ seas, including approximate median lines in the absence of formally agreed maritime boundaries.
The only formal change to PAs reported in 2023 came from the Wider Caribbean region, where two site extensions in the Cayman Islands resulted in a 0.4 km2 increase in terrestrial protection. Improvements were made to maritime limit data for the Indian and Pacific Oceans, South Atlantic and Wider Caribbean, resulting in a more accurate measure of the UKOTs’ combined sea area (a net change of 37.6 km2 overall). This also resulted in an 85.0 km2 increase in marine protection in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, and for all the UKOTs combined, as a consequence of updating boundary data for the Pitcairn Islands Exclusive Economic Zone and Marine Reserve. Further details can be found in Appendix 1 of JNCC Report Number 760.
Indicator components
Figure K4: Extent of terrestrial and marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures in the UK Overseas Territories, in total and by region, 2023
Table K4: Extent of terrestrial and marine protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures in the UK Overseas Territories, in total and by region, 2023
| Ukot | Marine; Total area protected | Marine; Total area unprotected | Terrestrial; Total area protected | Terrestrial; Total area unprotected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All UKOTs | 74.95 | 25.05 | 26.09 | 73.91 |
| Indian and Pacific Oceans | 99.98 | 0.02 | 60.56 | 39.44 |
| Mediterranean | 22.72 | 77.28 | 38.08 | 61.92 |
| South Atlantic | 84.41 | 15.59 | 26.46 | 73.54 |
| Wider Caribbean | 0.10 | 99.90 | 15.05 | 84.95 |
Trend description for K4
As of the end of December 2023, protected areas and OECMs covered three-quarters (75%) of the marine environment in the UKOTs (remaining level since 2021), and covered more than a quarter (26.1%) of the terrestrial environment (remaining level since 2022). Given that the UKOTs’ waters are more than 300 times larger than their collective land area (5,748,660 km2 of sea compared to 17,738 km2 of land), correspondingly the extent of marine protection (4,308,679 km2) is also 3 orders of magnitude larger than for the terrestrial environment (4,628 km2). There are marked differences in protected area coverage between regions, with the 2 UKOTs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans protecting the greatest proportions of the terrestrial and marine environment (collectively) compared to other regions.
Assessment of change
No assessment of change was undertaken for this indicator as a suitable time series is not yet available in the Outcome Indicator Framework.