US Protected Areas
This layer maps the most strongly protected conservation lands in the United States — national parks, wilderness areas and nature reserves where natural ecosystems are pr
Source: PAD-US (USGS) Year: 2024 Category: Transition risks · Sensitive areas · Protected areas Coverage: Country (United States) Format: Boundary polygons Used in risk analysis: Yes — gates Sensitive areas
What it shows
This layer maps the most strongly protected conservation lands in the United States — national parks, wilderness areas and nature reserves where natural ecosystems are preserved with minimal human disturbance. It matters for nature-related risk because these lands align with the definition of "sensitive areas" under both the TNFD and the CSRD, so operations in or near them attract heightened disclosure and scrutiny.
How it is built
The layer is drawn from the U.S. Protected Areas Database (PAD-US), maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey. It is restricted to GAP Status 1 and 2 lands, the two highest levels of protection, where biodiversity conservation is the primary management goal and natural ecosystems are preserved with minimal disturbance. The dataset represents these areas as mapped boundaries, with no derived score — inclusion follows the official GAP status classification.
How to read it
This is a boundary layer. A site that intersects or lies near a GAP 1 or 2 protected area is flagged as overlapping a high-value conservation area, warranting closer review under TNFD and CSRD expectations. There is no numeric scale — relevance is determined by spatial overlap or proximity. Lower-protection lands (GAP 3 and 4) are deliberately excluded to keep the layer focused on the strictest conservation mandates.
Class thresholds
This is not a continuous physical-flux layer and has no numeric thresholds. It is a presence / boundary mask: the underlying feature is the U.S. Protected Areas Database (PAD-US), filtered to GAP Status 1 and 2 lands, stored as a vector layer of protected-area boundaries (Loc_Nm and related attributes) with no modelled score. There are therefore only two states for any location: inside a GAP 1/2 protected area, or outside it.
The single "class" is presence. A site is flagged on the Sensitive areas dimension when it intersects a GAP 1 or 2 protected-area polygon (the proximity trigger is an intersection, so direct overlap is required), combined with a material ENCORE pressure/service as set out in the Risk analysis table above.
How these thresholds were set. There is no Darwin classification of a continuous quantity here. The only selection rule is a categorical filter on the USGS GAP Status code: Darwin keeps GAP Status 1 and 2 (the two strictest conservation classes, where biodiversity conservation is the primary management goal) and excludes GAP 3 and 4. Membership is otherwise taken verbatim from the USGS PAD-US dataset; no numeric breaks or bins are applied.
Reference: U.S. Geological Survey — PAD-US (Protected Areas Database of the United States).
Source
U.S. Protected Areas Database (PAD-US), GAP Status 1 and 2 — U.S. Geological Survey.
Comparison with the WWF Risk Filter Suite
This maps to WWF Biodiversity Risk Filter indicator S14_1 Protected/Conserved Areas. WWF derives its protected-area indicator from the global WDPA (UNEP-WCMC via IBAT); Darwin assembles the national PAD-US dataset, restricted to the strictest GAP statuses, to extend and localise that coverage for the United States.
Risk analysis
A site is flagged on a dimension by combining a proximity trigger (this layer) with an activity trigger (the entity's ENCORE pressure/service). Proximity only → Potentially material; proximity and the matching ENCORE pressure/service is material → Very material; neither → Not material.
| Dimension | ENCORE service / pressure | Proximity trigger (this layer) | Activity trigger (entity) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sensitive areas | Sensitive area disturbance | Site overlaps / is near the feature | impact ratio ≥ 10%; “Disturbances (e.g noise, light)” pressure ≥ 4; “Introduction of invasive species” pressure ≥ 4; “Area of freshwater use” pressure ≥ 4; “Area of seabed use” pressure ≥ 4; “Area of land use” pressure ≥ 4; “Other biotic resource extraction (e.g. fish, timber)” pressure ≥ 4; “Volume of water use” pressure ≥ 4; “Emissions of non-GHG air pollutants” pressure ≥ 4; “Generation and release of solid waste” pressure ≥ 4; “Emissions of toxic soil and water pollutants” pressure ≥ 4; “Emissions of nutrient soil and water pollutants” pressure ≥ 4 |
Generated from darwin/layers/layer-us-protected-areas.toml and risk_indicator_pairs.toml (develop).