PARC: Protected Area Connectedness Index v2: 30s global layer 2020

Brief description

CSIRO Protected Area Connectedness Index (PARC: Connectedness) is a global 30 arc-second product for 2020. Version 2 of the PARC: Connectedness Index has been revised in line with the Bioclimatic Ecosystem Resilience Index v2 framework, to use an updated geometric framework and global habitat condition surface. Prior to this update, PARC-C was calculated using a slightly different methodology which is not directly comparable. The Protected Area Representativeness and Connectedness (PARC) indices measure the extent to which terrestrial protected areas, and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs), are ecologically representative, and well-connected (both to one another, and to other areas of intact natural ecosystems in the surrounding landscape). For the purposes of reporting against the 2010-2020 Aichi Targets, the PARC was originally configured as two separate indicators: the Protected Area Representativeness Index (or ‘PARC-representativeness’) and the Protected Area Connectedness Index (or ‘PARC-connectedness’). However, these two indices were always designed in a manner which would allow them to be logically combined to yield a composite indicator of the extent to which a system of protected areas and OECMs is both ecologically representative and well-connected.

The PARC indices, whether generated separately or as a composite, are used to monitor and report past-to-present trends in representativeness and connectedness by repeated calculation using best-available mapping of protected areas and OECMs at multiple points in time, e.g. for different years. They can also provide a foundation for assessing the contribution that potential additions to the system of protected areas and OECMs might make to improving present PARC scores, thereby providing a foundation for prioritising such actions.
Lineage: The PARC Connectedness indicator is calculated using the CSIRO BILBI biodiversity modelling infrastructure. BILBI is based on a global 30s grid, with environmental data comprising terrain adjusted www.WorldClim.org (v1) climate data and soil data from www.SoilGrids.org (v1). This was combined with www.GBIF.org (Global Biodiversity Information Facility) data to generate spatial biodiversity models (using Generalised Dissimilarity Modelling) for each WWF biome/realm combination. Protected areas have been extracted from the World Database on Protected Areas (www.iucn.org/theme/protected-areas/our-work/world-database-protected-areas).