The Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2006 provides both spatial and text information about government, Indigenous and privately protected areas for continental Australia. State and Territory conservation agencies supplied data current for various dates between July 2006 and January 2007. This is the sixth version of the database, with previous versions released in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002 and 2004. 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).
Thedepartment publishes a summary of the CAPAD data biennially on its website at http://www.environment.gov.au/capad
Main attributes in the database include:
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.
ACCP=Conservation Covenant
BG=Botanic Gardens (Commonwealth)
CA=Conservation Area
COR=Coastal Reserve
CP=Conservation Park
CR=Conservation Reserve
FR=Forest Reserve
GR=Game Reserve
HA=Heritage Agreement
HER=Heritage River
HIR=Historical Reserve
HS=Historic Site
HTR=Hunting Reserve
IPA=Indigenous Protected Area
MAA=Management Agreement Area
MCP=Marine and Coastal Park
MR=Miscellaneous Reserve
NAP=Nature Park
NAPA=Nature Park (Aboriginal)
NCA=Natural Catchment Area
NCR=Nature Conservation Reserve
=Nature Conservation Reserve - Flora and Fauna Reserve
=Nature Conservation Reserve - Flora Reserve
=Nature Conservation Reserve - Wildlife Reserve (NCR classification)
=Nature Conservation Reserve - Wildlife Reserve (no hunting)
NF=Native Forest
NFR=Natural Features Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Bushland Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Cave Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Geological Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Gippsland Lakes Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Natural Features and Scenic Reserve)
=Natural Features Reserve - River Murray Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Scenic Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Streamside Reserve
=Natural Features Reserve - Wildlife Reserve (hunting)
=Natural Features Reserve - Wildlife Reserve (SGR classification)
NP=National Park
NPA=National Park Aboriginal
NPC=National Park (Commonwealth)
NPR=National Park (Recovery)
NPS=National Park (Scientific)
NR=Nature Reserve
NRA=Nature Recreation Area
NREF=Nature Refuge
OCA=Other Conservation Area
OP=Other Park
PA=Protected Area
PNR=Private Nature Reserve
PPP=Permanent Park Preserve
PS=Private Sanctuary
RA=Reference Area
REP=Regional Park
RNA=Remote and Natural Area
RP=Recreation Park
RR=Regional Reserve
RSR=Resources Reserve
SCA=State Conservation Area
SP=State Park
SR=State Reserve
WA=Wilderness Protected Area
WHA=World Heritage 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 and IUCN category.
REPT_AREA: area in hectares from the GAZ_AREA attribute and if this is a null value then the GIS_AREA is used.
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 NRS. "Y" = a protected area located within the State and Territory jurisdiction. "X" = a protected area located within an Australian external territory (e.g. Christmas Island).
STATE: The state is the state that the protected area is located in. COM = protected areas located in Australian external territories.
AUTHORITY: The Authority responsible for the management of the protected area mechanism.
ACT_Govt: ACT - Planning and Land Authority
CALM: WA Department of Conservation and Land Management
CC: WA Conservation Commission
DECC: NSW Department of Environment and Climate Change
DEH: Department of the Environment and Energy and Heritage
DEH_AAD: Department of Environment and Heritage Australian Antarctic Division
DEW: Department of Environment and Water Resources
DSE: VIC Department of Environment and Sustainability
EPA: QLD Environmental Protection Agency
FSA: Forestry SA
LHI Board: Lord Howe Island Board
NSW NPWS: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
NT_PWS: NT Parks and Wildlife Service
SA_DEH: SA Department of the Environment and Energy and Heritage
TAS_DPIW: TAS Department of Primary Industries and Water
TAS_FRST: TAS Department of Forestry
TAS_PWS: TAS Parks and Wildlife Service
TAS_WPMA:
DATASOURCE: Describes the source of the data for the protected area, values are:
ACTPLA: ACT - Planning and Land Authority
DEW: Department of Environment and Water Resources
NSW NPWS: NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service.
NT DNR: NT Department of Natural Resources
QLD_DPI: QLD Department of Primary Industries
SA DEH: SA Dept. of the Environment and Heritage
TAS DPIW: Tasmania Department of Primary Industries and Water
VIC: Department of Environment and Sustainability
WA_GOV: Department of Conservation and Land Management
GOVERNANCE: Determines if the protected area is government, Indigenous or privately owned.
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'
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 Geodetic 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 Geodetic Datum of Australia 1994.
OBJECTID , Shape , SHAPE.AREA and SHAPE.LEN are automatically generated ESRI attributesCC - Attribution (CC BY)
This data has been licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia Licence. More information can be found at http://www.ausgoal.gov.au/creative-commons.
The data is supplied to the Commonwealth for compilation by States and Territories of Australia and custodianship rests with the following agencies. A list of the agencies is available in the acknowledgements section of the metadata entry.
The CAPAD data is supplied to the Commonwealth for compilation over a 6 month time frame and many months may pass before it is published and thus is not up-to-date at the time of publication and release by the Commonwealth.
It is the responsibility of the person using the CAPAD dataset to always check the metadata for the currency date within each jurisdiction and if required seek advice from the individual agencies on details of more recent gazettals of protected areas.
Due to privacy issues in relation to some covenants on private lands, these data in some jurisdictions are not included in the spatial data, but are included in the published CAPAD summary statistics. The National Reserve System Section can advise in which bioregions this is likely to be an issue.
Licence type changed to Creative Commons By Attribution on 9 June 2016
© Commonwealth of Australia (Department of the Environment and Energy) 2016
