Global Gap Analysis—August 2003, First Iteration

This map presents the results of the first phase of the Global Gap Analysis, as published in Advances in Applied Biodiversity Science 5. Results of the second iteration are available in Nature 428(6983): 640–643 ("Effectiveness of the Global Protected-Area Network in Representing Species Diversity") and BioScience 54(12): 1,092–1,100 ("Global Gap Analysis: Priority Regions for Expanding the Global Protected-Area Network"). Research for both iterations was led by Dr. A. Rodrigues.

The Global Gap Analysis is the first assessment of the effectiveness of the global network of protected areas in covering species diversity. This project overlaid maps of protected areas onto distribution maps for more than 11,000 species of mammals, amphibians, and threatened birds to assess how well each species is represented in protected areas. The information was used to highlight regions that are urgent priorities for the expansion or consolidation of the global network of protected areas.

In areas such as the Philippines, existing protected areas offer so little coverage that major emphasis must be placed on the expansion of the protected-area network. Unprotected areas that are irreplaceable (high levels of endemism) and highly threatened (high numbers of threatened species) are those where expansion is most urgently needed.

In regions such as East and South-Central Africa, existing protected areas are highlighted as fundamental for the consolidation of the existing network. Because these protected areas are irreplaceable and contain highly threatened endemic species, it is fundamental to ensure that they are being managed adequately. In a region such as the Tropical Andes, there is already significant protected area coverage, but levels of endemism and threat are so high that both protected and unprotected areas are highlighted as urgent conservation priorities.