Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014

Full description

The Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014 provides both spatial and text information about government, indigenous and privately protected areas for continental Australia. State and Territory conservation agencies supplied data current to 30 June 2014. This is the ninth version of the database, with previous versions released in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

The Department also publishes protected areas data for the marine environment. "CAPAD 2014-marine" contains spatial and text information about offshore protected areas, for both State and Commonwealth waters. Previous versions of CAPAD marine information have been published in 1997, 2002, 2004, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

CAPAD provides a snapshot of protected areas that meet the IUCN definition of a protected area:

"A protected area is an area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means" (IUCN 1994).

The department publishes a summary of the CAPAD data biennially on its website at http://www.environment.gov.au/capad/

This version of CAPAD 2014 is a public and downloadable version of CAPAD 2014 data, available for use through the CC-BY licencing model.

Main attributes in the full version of CAPAD 2014 include:

PA_ID: The protected area ID code. Created from RES_NUMBER if unique, otherwise it is a DoE generated number.

NAME: the name of the protected area. Gazetted PAs with no name are flagged as "Unnamed" with a reserve number.

TYPE: the type of protected area according to the protected area establishment mechanism.

TYPE_ABBR: the abbreviation of the TYPE.

AA    Aboriginal Area
ACCP    Conservation Covenant
ASMA    Antarctic Specially Managed Area
ASPA    Antarctic Specially Protected Area
BG    Botanic Gardens
CA    Conservation Area
CCA    Coordinated Conservation Area
CCAZ1    CCA Zone 1 National Park
CCAZ3    CCA Zone 3 State Conservation Area
COR    Coastal Reserve
CP    Conservation Park
CR    Coastal Reserve
FLR    Flora Reserve
FR    Forest Reserve
GR    Game Reserve
HA    Heritage Agreement
HIR    Historical Reserve
HPOT    Biodiversity Hotspot
HR    Heritage River
HS    Historic Site
HTR    Hunting Reserve
IPA    Indigenous Protected Area
KCR    Karst Conservation Reserve
MA    Management Agreement
MAA    Management Agreement Area
MCP    National Parks Act Schedule 4 park or reserve
MNP    Marine National Park
MR    Miscellaneous Reserve
MS    Marine Sanctuary
NAP    Nature Park
NCA    Natural Catchment Area
NCR    Nature Conservation Reserve
NFR    Natural Features Reserve
NP    National Park
NPA    National Park Aboriginal
NPC    National Park (Commonwealth)
NR    Nature Reserve
NRA    Nature Recreation Area
NREF    Nature Refuge
NRS    NRS Addition - Gazettal in Progress
OCA    Other Conservation Area
OCA/NAP    Other Conservation Area / Nature Park
OP    Other
PA    Protected Area
PNPA    Proposed National Parks Act park or park addition
PNR    Private Nature Reserve
PPP    Permanent Park Preserve
PS    Private Sanctuary
RA    Reference Area
REP    Regional Park
RNA    Remote and Natural Area - not scheduled under NPA/Remote and Natural Area - Schedule 6, National Parks Act (Abbreviated as Remote and Natural Area - not scheduled under Nat Parks Act)
RP    Recreation Park
RR    Regional Reserve
S5G    5(1)(g) Reserve
S5H    5(1)(h) Reserve
SCA    State Conservation Area
SP    State Park
SR    State Reserve
WPA    Wilderness Protection Area
WP    Wilderness Park
WZ    Wilderness Zone

IUCN: the IUCN protected area management category ascribed by the Managing authority, as outlined in the publication: CNPPA/WCMC "Guidelines for Protected Area management categories". Gland: IUCN, 1994. (ISBN: 2-8317-0201-1).

Definitions include:
IA Strict Nature Reserve: managed mainly for science;
IB Wilderness Area: managed mainly for wilderness protection;
II National Park: managed mainly for ecosystem protection;
III Natural Monument: managed mainly for conservation of specific natural features;
IV Habitat / Species Management Area: managed mainly for conservation through management intervention;
V Protected Landscape / Seascape: managed mainly for landscape/seascape conservation and recreation;
VI Managed Resource Protected Area: managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems.

GAZ_AREA: area in hectares as described in the nomination document (e.g. parliamentary gazettal), to the nearest hectare. Some protected areas do not have a specific area in the designation.

GIS_AREA: area in hectares based on current spatial data and an Albers equal area projection for Australia. Where protected area consists of multiple polygons (parts) the GIS_AREA is the sum of all the polygons with the same name, type, state and IUCN category. It is this field that is used to calculate the statistics provided in spreadsheets at: www.environment.gov.au/capad/

REPT_AREA is the same with GIS_AREA (previously REPT_AREA is in hectares from the GAZ_AREA attribute and if this is a null value then the GIS_AREA is used. For Protected areas with multiple records, REPT_AREA is a calculated by dividing GAZ_AREA by GIS_AREA of the total then applying this factor to the GIS_AREA of the record). Due to the fact that not all received data have REPT_AREA, it is incomplete and inconsistent if REPT_AREA is used for analysis.

GAZ_DATE: the first gazettal or proclamation date that established any protected area at this site.

LATEST_GAZ: the date of the most recent gazettal or proclamation to add land to the protected area. It can be the same date as the GAZ_AREA.

NRS_PA: This attribute indicates the status of the protected area as part of the National Reserve System (NRS). "Y" = Yes. A protected area located within the State and Territory jurisdiction "I" = an interim protected area - in the process of being gazetted/established. "N" = No. A protected area that does not meet the NRS criteria. "ND" = No Data. A protected area that does not meet NRS criteria, but compliments the NRS with sympathetic management.

STATE: The state is the state that the protected area is located in. EXT= protected areas located in Australian external territories.

AUTHORITY: The Authority responsible for the management of the protected area mechanism.    
AAD     Australian Antarctic Division
AC_SA     Alexandrina Council
ACT_TAMSD    ACT Territory and Municipal Services Directorate
AWC     Australian Wildlife Conservancy
AWC & BA    Australian Wildlife Conservancy & Birds Australia
BBT     Bookmark Biosphere Trust
BHA     Bush Heritage Australia
CCC_QLD     Caloundra City Council
CR PTY LTD    Conservation Reserves PTY LTD
DOE     Australian Government, Department of the Environment
EAC_QLD     Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation
EL Inc._NSW    Enduring Landscapes Inc.
FC_NSW     Forestry Commission of NSW
FPR Inc.     Friends of the Porongurup Range (Inc)
GCC_NSW    Gosford City Council
HCR_CMA    Hunter - Central Rivers Catchment Management Authority
ILC_NT     Indigenous Land Corporation
IMG     Indigenous management group
IMG, LILC     Indigenous management group and Local Indigenous Land Council
KRGC_NSW    Ku-ring-gai Council
LHI_Board    Lord Howe Island Board
LILC     Local Indigenous Land Council
LVRC_Q_EPA    Lockyer Valley Regional Council and QLD EPA
MINCA_QLD    Magnetic Island Nature Care Association
NF SA Inc.     Nature Foundation SA Inc
NSC_QLD     Noosa Shire Council
NSW_OEH    NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
NT_PWCNT    Parks and Wildlife Commission of the NT
QLD_DERM    Queensland Department of Environment and Resource Management
QLD_EHP     Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
QLD_EPA     Queensland Environment Protection Agency
QLD_NPRSR    Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing
SA_DEH     South Australian Department of Environment and Heritage
SA_DEWNR    South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
F_SA Forestry South Australia
SCRC_QLD    Sunshine Coast Regional Council
TAS_DPIPWE    Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
TAS_WPMT    Wellington Park Management Trust Tasmania
TFN_VIC     Trust for Nature (Victoria)
TLC Inc_TAS    Tasmanian Land Conservancy Inc.
TSRA     Torres Strait Regional Authority
TTTN     The Trustee for the Trust for Nature
U. Ballarat     University of Ballarat
VIC_DEPI     Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries
WA_DPAW    Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife
WAC     Winangakirri Aboriginal Corporation
WEC    Worlds End Conservation Pty Ltd


DATASOURCE: Describes the source of the data for the protected area, values are:    
AAD     Australian Antarctic Division
ACT_TAMSD    ACT Territory and Municipal Services Directorate
DOE     Australian Government, Department of the Environment
DOE_NRSP    Australian Government, Department of the Environment - National Reserve System Program
F_SA     Forestry South Australia
FC_NSW     Forestry Commission of NSW
LHI_Board    Lord Howe Island Board
NSW_OEH    NSW Office of Environment and Heritage
NT_PWCNT    Parks and Wildlife Commission of the NT
QLD_EHP     Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection
QLD_NPRSR    Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing
SA_DEWNR    South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources
TAS_DPIPWE    Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment
VIC_DEPI     Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries
WA_DPAW    Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife


GOVERNANCE: Records the type of governance that has management and decision making responsibility. G = Government, C = Community (conserved areas including indigenous peoples or local communities), J = Joint or P = Privately managed.

ENVIRON: A protected area gazetted as terrestrial may have a marine component and vice versa. A protected area can be 'T' terrestrial, marine 'M' and both 'B'. Terrestrial CAPAD 2014 contains 'T' and 'B'. Marine CAPAD 2014 contains 'M'.

OVERLAP: Shows whether or not the protected area is overlapped by another. Protected areas with a value of '1' are the primary protected area in that area. A protected area with a value of '2' is completely overlapped by another protected area.

X_COORD: is the longitude in decimal degrees east within the object closest to the centre of the object using the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994.

Y_COORD: is the latitude in decimal degrees south within the object closest to the centre of the object using the Geocentric Datum of Australia 1994.

MGT_PLAN: The code of the status of the management plan for the protected area.

Definitions Include:
P - In Preparation - Some form of management document was being prepared.
D - Draft - A draft management document was released for comment by the public, management board or equivalent.
S - Statutory - Enabling legislation establishes the management of a protected area and separate management document is not required.
I - Management Intent - A formal statement of management intent has been prepared that clearly sets out the management objectives for the protected area but includes little else.
M - Management Plan - A formally adopted management plan that has been through consultation and contains strategies and actions for implementation for this protected area.
R - Regional Plan - A formally adopted management plan has been through consultation and contains general strategies and actions for implementation over a group of protected areas.
N - Unknown - No form of management document could be found.

RES_NUMBER: The reserve number (if declared) as used by the controlling authority.

OBJECTID *, Shape *, SHAPE.AREA and SHAPE.LEN are automatically generated ESRI attributes

Lineage

Maintenance and Update Frequency: asNeeded

Statement: The Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014 provides both spatial and text information about government, indigenous, private and jointly managed protected areas for continental Australia. State and Territory conservation agencies supplied data current to 30 June 2014. This is the ninth version of the database, with previous versions released in 1997, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010 and 2012. CAPAD provides a snapshot of protected areas that meet the IUCN definition of a protected area. Where appropriate attribute information (as per CAPAD technical specifications) were not provided in the spatial data layers, the textual data describing the spatial data provided by the contributors was matched to CAPAD attributes such as 'NAME','TYPE' or 'RES_NO' where applicable. Comparisons were made between data supplied and previous CAPAD versions. All anomalies were corrected by data suppliers or confirmed to be correct. Validation of attribute information and topological structure has been undertaken by the Australian Government, Department of the Environment. Where required these were updated or amended to ensure consistency and topological integrity.

Notes

Credit
When citing the data please use ‘Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2014, Commonwealth of Australia 2014’.The data is supplied to the Commonwealth for compilation by States and Territories of Australia and custodianship rests with the source agencies listed below:

Credit
Australian Antarctic Division (DoE); ACT Territory and Municipal Services Directorate; Australian Government Department of the Environment; NSW Lord Howard Island Board; Forestry South Australia; Forestry Commission of NSW; NSW Office of Environment and Heritage; Parks and Wildlife Commission of the NT; Queensland Department of Environment and Heritage Protection; Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing; South Australian Department of Environment, Water and Natural Resources; Tasmanian Department of Primary Industries, Parks, Water and Environment; Victorian Department of Environment and Primary Industries; Western Australian Department of Parks and Wildlife