Protected Planet is an online database of protected areas and other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) as part of a joint project between the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
We explored the dataset offered by Protected Planet and took a look at the protected areas in Malaysia. The map was fascinating—Malaysia’s national parks like Taman Negara and the Endau-Rompin National Park were easily identifiable, along with other nature reserves and wilderness areas where human contact is strictly limited. While not displayed here, it should be noted that the dataset also offers marine-based conservation areas.
Out of curiosity, we overlaid the dataset with a map of rubber plantations by Transparent World (2015) via Global Forest Watch (GFW), and found that the two maps fit very nicely around each other with little overlap. We’ve also grabbed locations of saw mills based on search results on Google Maps just for kicks.
