Growth in protected areas continues.

• Author: Yatsevich, Margarita
• Position: VITAL SIGNS

The areas of the world that are officially protected grew by some 26 percent between 1997 and 2007. In total, land-based and sea-based protected areas occupy 21.8 million square kilometers, or 4.27 percent of Earth's surface. Globally, 12.4 percent of terrestrial land and territorial waters (that is, water up to 12 nautical miles from shore) are devoted to protection.

Protected areas include nature reserves, wilderness areas, national parks and monuments, habitat management areas, protected landscapes and seascapes, and so on. They are managed for a broad range of purposes, including recreation, use of natural resources, and conservation. Between 1872 and 2007, governments around the world designated nearly 114,000 terrestrial and marine sites. At present Germany boasts the highest number of protected areas (14,388), followed by Russia (11,181) and Estonia (9,617). In total protected area, the United States tops the list at...