One-third of global protected land is under intense human pressure
Abstract
Protected yet pressured: Protected areas are increasingly recognized as an essential way to safeguard biodiversity. Although the percentage of land included in the global protected area network has increased from 9 to 15%, Jones et al. found that a third of this area is influenced by intensive human activity. Thus, even landscapes that are protected are experiencing some human pressure, with only the most remote northern regions remaining almost untouched. Science , this issue p. 788
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Current approaches for estimating human pressures on protected areas rely mainly on land-use changes such as those used in compiling the human footprint index.
“A fundamental problem is that current approaches for estimating human pressures on protected areas rely mainly on land‐use changes such as those used in compiling the human footprint index (Jones et al., 2018).”
From Scientists' warning on invasive alien species (2020) · cites this paper as Jones et al., 2018
One third of protected areas are under intense human pressure globally.
“One third of PAs are under intense human pressure globally ( 7 ), especially from anthropogenic activities along their borders and despite heavy protection ( 8 -11 ).”
From Cross-boundary human impacts compromise the Serengeti-Mara ecosystem (2019) · cites this paper as [7]
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- Authors
- Jones, K. R., Venter, O., Fuller, R. A., Allan, J. R., Maxwell, S. L., Negret, P. J., & Watson, J. E. M.
- Affiliations
- The University of Queensland (AU)
- University of Northern British Columbia (CA)
- School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
- Wildlife Conservation Society (US)
- Corresponding author
- Jones, Kendall R.
- ORCID
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 2018-05-18
- Volume
- 360
- Issue
- 6390
- Pages
- 788-791
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W2803929532
- Cited by
- 954
- References
- 34
- Citations by year
- 2026: 103 · 2025: 116 · 2024: 124 · 2023: 128 · 2022: 135 · 2021: 101 · 2020: 127 · 2019: 92 · 2018: 26 · 2017: 1
- FWCI
- 50.63
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Conservation, Biodiversity, and Resource Management
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Land Use and Ecosystem Services
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Nature and Landscape Conservation › Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies
- Keywords
- protected areas, anthropogenic pressure, biodiversity loss, conservation effectiveness, Convention on Biological Diversity, protected area designation, biodiversity targets
- MeSH terms
- Conservation of Natural Resources, Humans, Human Activities, Biodiversity
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