Global assessment of ‘border protected areas’: ecosystem conservation along international borders

Abstract

Transboundary conservation approaches have a great potential for conserving functional ecosystems, solving conflicts and strengthening bilateral and multilateral diplomatic relations. The UNEP-WCMC Transboundary Protected Area Inventories between 2005 - 2007 show an increase of transboundary protected areas which is the baseline of our study, whereas we also include other sites with management components, such as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. Our global assessment includes both transboundary protected areas and those adjacent to international borders. Based on the overlap with a 10 km buffer on both sides of all international borders we distinguish between a. officially established transboundary protected areas, b. pre-transboundary protected areas - sites within the border buffer and spatial proximity from both sides or even joint boundaries along an international border, but without a joint management agreement, and c. border protected areas just on one side of the border. We use a hexagonal grid to map the existence/non-existence of protected areas within the buffer and the level of transboundary conservation along the international borders. It is possible to reveal potential areas for establishing or fostering transboundary network as well as substantial gaps. Additionally, we classify and quantify all 'border protected areas' according to some criteria such as biomes, Intact Forest Landscapes, continents and time of establishment and also study their spatial intersection with anthropogenic features such as roadless areas and built-up areas. This allows for identifying potential thematic networks and using synergies in future transboundary efforts.