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    Ecological Representativeness of Terrestrial Protected Areas

    Refers to the degree to which protected areas reflect the full range of ecosystems and habitats within a geographical region. This concept is vital for ensuring that conservation efforts are extensive and inclusive of the diverse biological and ecological components of the landscape. Effective representativeness within protected areas helps preserve a wide spectrum of species, genetic diversity, and ecosystem services, crucial for ecological stability and resilience against environmental changes.

    To achieve a high representativeness score, conservation planners must strategically select and manage protected areas, to reflect the diversity of terrains, habitats, climatic conditions, and biodiversity hotspots in the country. This approach ensures that conservation measures are not biased toward certain landscapes or species, thus providing a more comprehensive safeguard against biodiversity loss. Furthermore, representativeness requires ongoing assessment and adaptation to account for new scientific insights and environmental shifts, ensuring that protected areas continue to cover the most crucial and representative habitats over time.

    The higher the score, the better the country ranks for this parameter.

    The table is sorted from the highest score to the lowest:

    Rank Country Score Change
    1
    Angola    		 100 N/A
    1
    Bangladesh    		 100 N/A
    1
    Belize    		 100 N/A
    1
    Brazil    		 100 N/A
    1
    Brunei    		 100 N/A
    1
    Cambodia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Cameroon    		 100 N/A
    1
    Colombia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Costa Rica    		 100 N/A
    1
    Cuba    		 100 N/A
    1
    DR Congo    		 100 N/A
    1
    Dominican Republic    		 100 N/A
    1
    Ecuador    		 100 N/A
    1
    El Salvador    		 100 N/A
    1
    Equatorial Guinea    		 100 N/A
    1
    Gabon    		 100 N/A
    1
    Gambia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Ghana    		 100 N/A
    1
    Grenada    		 100 N/A
    1
    Guatemala    		 100 N/A
    1
    Guinea    		 100 N/A
    1
    Guinea-Bissau    		 100 N/A
    1
    Guyana    		 100 N/A
    1
    Haiti    		 100 N/A
    1
    Honduras    		 100 N/A
    1
    India    		 100 N/A
    1
    Indonesia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Ivory Coast    		 100 N/A
    1
    Jamaica    		 100 N/A
    1
    Kenya    		 100 N/A
    1
    Liberia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Madagascar    		 100 N/A
    1
    Malaysia    		 100 N/A
    1
    Mexico    		 100 N/A
    1
    Mozambique    		 100 N/A
    1
    Myanmar    		 100 N/A
    1
    Nicaragua    		 100 N/A
    1
    Nigeria    		 100 N/A
    1
    Pakistan    		 100 N/A
    1
    Panama     		100 N/A
    1
    Papua New Guinea    		 100 N/A
    1
    Peru    		 100 N/A
    1
    St. Vincent and the Grenadines    		 100 N/A
    1
    Senegal    		 100 N/A
    1
    Sierra Leone    		 100 N/A
    1
    South Africa    		 100 N/A
    1
    Suriname    		 100 N/A
    1
    Thailand    		 100 N/A
    1
    Bahamas    		 100 N/A
    1
    Trinidad and Tobago    		 100 N/A
    1
    Tanzania    		 100 N/A
    1
    Venezuela    		 100 N/A
    1
    Vietnam    		 100 N/A
    54
    Australia    		 100 N/A
    55
    New Zealand    		 100 N/A
    56
    Bhutan    		 89 N/A
    57
    Dominica    		 80 N/A
    58
    Maldives    		 74 N/A
    58
    Sri Lanka    		 74 N/A
    60
    Saint Lucia    		 73 N/A
    61
    Namibia    		 69 N/A
    62
    Iceland    		 67 N/A
    63
    Norway    		 67 N/A
    64
    Lesotho     		65 N/A
    64
    Philippines    		 65 N/A
    64
    Taiwan    		 65 N/A
    67
    Antigua and Barbuda    		 64 N/A
    68
    Mauritius    		 63 N/A
    69
    Switzerland    		 62 N/A
    69
    Vanuatu    		 62 N/A
    71
    Botswana    		 61 N/A
    71
    Comoros    		 61 N/A
    73
    Netherlands    		 60 N/A
    74
    Chile    		 60 N/A
    75
    Denmark    		 60 N/A
    76
    France    		 60 N/A
    77
    United Kingdom    		 59 N/A
    78
    Zambia    		 59 N/A
    79
    Eswatini    		 58 N/A
    79
    Ireland    		 58 N/A
    79
    Nepal    		 58 N/A
    79
    Portugal    		 58 N/A
    83
    Belgium    		 56 N/A
    83
    Spain    		 56 N/A
    85
    Bolivia    		 55 N/A
    85
    East Timor    		 55 N/A
    85
    Zimbabwe    		 55 N/A
    88
    Austria    		 54 N/A
    88 Italy 54 N/A
    88
    Luxembourg    		 54 N/A
    91
    Sao Tome and Principe    		 53 N/A
    92
    Barbados    		 52 N/A
    92
    Cyprus    		 52 N/A
    92
    Germany    		 52 N/A
    92
    Singapore    		 52 N/A
    96
    Malawi    		 51 N/A
    97
    Bahrain    		 50 N/A
    97
    Oman    		 50 N/A
    99
    Albania    		 49 N/A
    99
    Montenegro    		 49 N/A
    101
    Croatia    		 47 N/A
    101
    Greece    		 47 N/A
    101
    Slovenia    		 47 N/A
    104
    Laos    		 46 N/A
    104
    Paraguay    		 46 N/A
    104
    Qatar    		 46 N/A
    107
    United Arab Emirates    		 46 N/A
    108
    Seychelles    		 45 N/A
    109
    Congo    		 44 N/A
    110
    Kuwait    		 42 N/A
    110
    Poland    		 42 N/A
    112
    Bosnia and Herz.    		 41 N/A
    112
    Lebanon    		 41 N/A
    112
    Malta    		 41 N/A
    112
    Rwanda    		 41 N/A
    116
    Solomon Islands    		 41 N/A
    117
    Benin    		 40 N/A
    117
    Hungary    		 40 N/A
    117
    Slovakia    		 40 N/A
    121
    Czech republic    		 39 N/A
    121
    Israel    		 39 N/A
    121
    Japan    		 39 N/A
    121
    Jordan    		 39 N/A
    121
    Uruguay    		 39 N/A
    125
    Ethiopia    		 38 N/A
    125
    Estonia    		 38 N/A
    125
    Micronesia    		 38 N/A
    128
    Serbia    		 38 N/A
    129
    Bulgaria    		 37 N/A
    130
    Cape Verde    		 37 N/A
    130
    Niger    		 37 N/A
    130
    Togo    		 37 N/A
    132
    United States    		 37 N/A
    134
    Burundi    		 36 N/A
    134
    Romania    		 36 N/A
    134
    Saudi Arabia    		 36 N/A
    137
    Argentina    		 35 N/A
    137
    Kiribati    		 35 N/A
    137
    Latvia    		 35 N/A
    137
    Morocco    		 35 N/A
    141
    Burkina Faso    		 34 N/A
    141
    Djibouti    		 34 N/A
    141
    Georgia    		 34 N/A
    141
    Lithuania    		 34 N/A
    141
    Marshall Islands    		 34 N/A
    141
    North Macedonia    		 34 N/A
    141
    Sweden    		 34 N/A
    148
    Uganda    		 33 N/A
    149
    Chad    		 32 N/A
    150
    South Korea    		 31 N/A
    150
    Uzbekistan    		 31 N/A
    152
    Egypt    		 30 N/A
    152
    Tajikistan    		 30 N/A
    154
    Azerbaijan    		 29 N/A
    154
    Samoa    		 29 N/A
    154
    Tunisia    		 29 N/A
    157
    Central Af. Rep.    		 28 N/A
    157
    Eritrea    		 28 N/A
    157
    Iraq    		 28 N/A
    157
    Turkmenistan    		 28 N/A
    161
    Belarus    		 27 N/A
    161
    Iran    		 27 N/A
    161
    Mali    		 27 N/A
    164
    Afghanistan    		 26 N/A
    164
    Kyrgyztan    		 26 N/A
    166
    Canada    		 25 N/A
    167
    Finland    		 25 N/A
    167
    Ukraine    		 25 N/A
    169
    Armenia    		 24 N/A
    169
    Sudan    		 24 N/A
    171
    Algeria    		 23 N/A
    171
    Moldova    		 23 N/A
    173
    Turkey    		 23 N/A
    174
    Russia    		 22 N/A
    175
    Mauritania    		 21 N/A
    176
    Kazakhstan    		 19 N/A
    177
    Mongolia    		 19 N/A
    178
    China    		 18 N/A
    179
    Tonga    		 15 N/A
    180
    Fiji    		 7 N/A

    Source and Calculation

    Representativeness scores are sourced from the latest version of the CSIRO Protected Area Representativeness and Connectedness (PARC) indices. Country-specific scores are calculated as weighted geometric means across each country’s terrestrial and freshwater habitats, using the methodology included in the dataset. A maximum score is awarded to a country that has achieved a score of 1.0, meaning its protected areas are fully representative of its ecological diversity.

    *Different sources offer varying data, as datasets may be subject to changes due to recent updates and revisions.