The Collaborative Australian Protected Areas Database (CAPAD) 2010 - Marine, provides both spatial and text information about off-shore protected areas in both state and commonwealth waters. State and Territory conservation agencies supplied data current for 2010. This is the eighth version of the CAPAD database, with previous versions released in 1997, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2008. 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 Australian Government Department of the Environment and Energy (DSEWPaC) publishes a summary of the CAPAD data biennially on http://www.environment.gov.au/capad
Marine CAPAD 2010 spatial data is available for download from the Find Environmental Data (FED) website: http://intspat01.ris.environment.gov.au/fed/catalog/main/home.page
Main attributes in the database include:
NAME: the name of the protected area.
TYPE: the type of protected area according to the protected area establishment mechanism.
TYPE_ABBR: the abbreviation of the TYPE.
TYPE abbreviations include:
AQR = Aquatic Reserve
CMR = Commonwealth Marine Reserve
DPAA = Dugong Protection Area (A)
DPAB = Dugong Protection Area (B)
DS = Dolphin Sanctuary
FHAA = Fish Habitat Area (A)
FHAB = Fish Habitat Area (B)
FHPA = Fish Habitat Protection Area
LS = Lobster Sanctuary
MAR = Marine Reserve
MCA = Marine Conservation Area
MMA = Marine Management Area
MNNR = Marine National Nature Reserve
MNP = Marine National Park
MNR = Marine Nature Reserve
MP = Marine Park
MR = Marine Reserve
MS = Marine Sanctuary
NNR = National Nature Reserve
NP = National Park
NR = Nature Reserve
SH = Shipwreck Reserve
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.
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_DATE.
NRS_PA: This attribute indicates the status of the protected area as part of the National Reserve System (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). "I" = an interim protected area - in the process of being gazetted/established. "N" = a protected area that does not meet the NRS criteria.
STATE: The state is the state that the protected area is located in. COM = protected areas located in Commonwealth Waters.
AUTHORITY: The Authority responsible for the management of the protected area mechanism.
AUTHORITY abbreviations include:
DSEWPaC = Department of the Environment and Energy
GBRMPA = Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
NSW_DPI = NSW Department of Primary Industries
NSW_MPA = NSW Marine Park Authority
NT_PWS = NT Parks and Wildlife Service
PIRSA = Primary Industries and Resources SA
QLD_DEEDI = QLD Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
QLD_DERM = QLD Department of Environment and Resource Management
QLD_DPIF = QLD Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
SA_DENR = SA Department of Environment and Natural Resources
TAS_PWS = Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service
VIC_DSE = VIC Department of Sustainability and Environment
WA_DEC = WA Department of Environment and Conservation
WA_DOF = WA Department of Fisheries
DATASOURCE: Describes the source of the data for the protected area, values are:
DATA SOURCE abbreviations include:
DSEWPaC = Department of the Environment and Energy
GBRMPA = Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority
NSW_DPI = NSW Department of Primary Industries
NT_PWS = NT Parks and Wildlife Service
PIRSA = Primary Industries and Resources SA
QLD_DEEDI = QLD Department of Employment, Economic Development and Innovation
QLD_DERM = QLD Department of Environment and Resource Management
QLD_DPIF = QLD Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry
SA_DEH = SA Department of Environment and Heritage
SA_DENR = SA Department of Environment and Natural Resources
TAS_PWS = Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service
VIC_DSE = VIC Department of Sustainability and Environment
WA_DEC = Western Australia Department of Environment and Conservation
WA_DOF = WA Department of Fisheries
GOVERNANCE: Determines if the protected area is government, Indigenous, joint or privately managed.
ENVIRON: Protected areas in the Marine CAPAD dataset are classified as 'M'. Marine components of terrestrial parks are included in CAPAD (terrestrial) as Environ= 'B' (Both).
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 source 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 6-12 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.
Licence type changed to Creative Commons By Attribution on 9 June 2016
© Commonwealth of Australia (Department of the Environment and Energy) 2016