CAPAD: protected area data
CAPAD editions | CAPAD abbreviations
To support and monitor progress of the scientific bioregional framework, Commonwealth, state and territory agencies regularly provide statistics on the protected areas within their jurisdictions. The statistics are compiled in a database - the Collaborative Australian Protected Area Database commonly known as CAPAD.
CAPAD provides a national perspective on the conservation of biodiversity in protected areas and helps Australia to regularly report on the status of protected areas to meet international obligations. CAPAD information is provided to the World Database on Protected Areas.
CAPAD summarises information at a national, state and territory level. IBRA statistics only apply to terrestrial protected areas. For each jurisdiction CAPAD includes information about the following:
- List of all protected areas. This list includes information on IUCN category, location (latitude and longitude of mid-point,or centroid), area (hectares) and gazettal date (the year an area was declared a protected area).
- Protected areas classified according to reservation type, such as national park, conservation covenant, Indigenous Protected Area.
- Protected areas classified according to IUCN management category - for example, the number of Category III protected areas in New South Wales.
- Protected areas classified according to type as a proportion of IBRA (Version 6.1) regions. For example, the number of national parks within the Victorian Midlands IBRA region and the percentage of national parks within that region.
- Protected areas classified according to IUCN management category as a proportion of IBRA region. For example, the number of Category II protected areas in Queensland and the percentage of Category 11 protected areas in Queensland IBRA regions.
- The level of protection in IBRA regions for all additions of CAPAD.
- New data for 2006 on the level of protection of IBRA subregions.
- Protected Areas classified according to ownership and governance - for example, government, local government, Indigenous, and for 2006, private protected areas.
Information for CAPAD editions
CAPAD is both a textual and spatial database, with information from 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, and 1997. We are now gathering and collating information for 2008.
See CAPAD editions for: 2006 | 2004 | 2002 | 2000 | 1997
The textual data in tabular format is available to all clients accessing this web-site and can be downloaded in MsExcel format. This information is provided as a national spreadsheet and split into state and territory spreadsheets.
The spatial data is not freely available; access is subject to a license agreement. The information is available in Arc Info or ArcGIS format. To seek access to this information please contact the National Reserve System (nrs@environment.gov.au) stating the proposed use of the information. Specific approval is required if the spatial information is to be used for commercial purposes.
CAPAD Abbreviations
Abbreviations have been used in order to reduce size of the data and to improve formatting to improve viewing on web pages. Full descriptions of the abbreviations are available below:
- Protected Areas Types and abbreviations
- IBRA Region Descriptions and Codes
- IBRA subregion Descriptions and Codes (XLS - 56KB)
- IUCN Management Categories Descriptions and Codes
- Governance Descriptions and Codes (Word - 29KB)