Common Database on Designated Areas (CDDA)
The definition of a "protected area" adopted by IUCN is:
An area of land and/or sea especially dedicated to the protection and maintenance of biological diversity, and of natural and associated cultural resources, and managed through legal or other effective means.
Furthermore, IUCN recognises:
Although all protected areas meet the general purposes contained in this definition, in practice the precise purposes for which protected areas are managed differ greatly. The following are the main purposes of management: Scientific research, Wilderness protection, Preservation of species and genetic diversity, Maintenance of environmental services, Protection of specific natural and cultural features, Tourism and recreation, Education, Sustainable use of resources from natural ecosystems, Maintenance of cultural and traditional attributes.
The definition of a "designated area" within the CDDA is very similar. The "designation types" are grouped according to 3 classes, which clearly reflects the note above by identifying designation types in other sectors (type B). Type C could refer to "or other effective means".
As some of the designation types do not refer to the creation of individual site networks, the definition of the CDDA also includes "area covering" designations such as the protection of the complete distribution of certain habitats. This is an addition to the IUCN "protected area" definition.
Biodiversity
Conservation
Designation
Fauna
Flora
Landscape
Nature
Protection
Database about nationally designated sites, nature protection sites such as national parks and nature reserves
CONTENT OF THE CURRENT CDDA DATABASE
The 2005 CDDA database on nationally designated areas contains three products:
· List of designation types at national or sub-national level, according to the typology developed in the Standard Data Form for Natura2000 under the Habitats Directive or the Emerald network under the Bern Convention
· The sites data base for those designation types which create site networks
· Boundary information
For the validation, the existing data on designation types and on sites for each country are distributed in one MS-Access file "CDDA-XX-YYYYMM" with four data tables:
· Designations-XX: list of designation types
· Sites-XX: table of nationally designated areas
· Siterelations-XX: table indicating the site relationships
· Habitats-XX: table containing habitat information
"XX" stands for the IS0 2 character country code
"YYYY" stands for the year in which the file was created
"MM" stands for the month in which the file was created
Annual
Nature conservation and biodiversity
February 2005