Today’s good news is that people all over the world are increasingly designating significant portions of Earth’s land and sea as protected conservation areas. Protected land area has increased from 11.9% of all land in 2000 to 15% in 2017, while protected sea areas have increased from 0.7% to 7% in the same period. This increase has not been dominated by any one country or region, but is a global trend spanning continents. In addition, the trend to protect the sea is accelerating, with more marine conservation areas designated every year (see below). In the chart, green dots and lines represent land, while blue dots and lines represent the sea.

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You can see two charts showing the current and new protected land and sea areas below.

Protected Land

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Protected Sea

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In addition, you can play with a live, zoomable version of these maps here.

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