The European digital observatory for protected areas (DOPA) provides accurate maps, environment indicators and alerts on protected ecosystems to facilitate concrete action in halting biodiversity loss, restoring degraded ecosystems, and prioritizing allocation of funds.
18 February 2011: The European Commission’s Joint Research Initiative (JRC) has launched a digital observatory for protected areas (DOPA) that will provide accurate maps, environment indicators and alerts on protected ecosystems.The DOPA system was developed to monitor implementation of two targets of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): to protect at least 17% of terrestrial and inland water and 10% of coastal and marine ecosystems, by 2020.
The system combines the JRC’s remote sensing information with data on protected areas, species distributions and socio-economic indicators. It aims to facilitate concrete action in halting biodiversity loss, restoring degraded ecosystems and prioritizing allocation of funds.
DOPA was developed in collaboration with the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the UN Environment Programme World Conservation Monitoring Centre (UNEP-WCMC), Birdlife International and the UK Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB). [JRC Press Release] [Website of DOPA Portal]