Natural Protected Areas of Puerto Rico 2015

This GIS file provides the latest compilation (as of the 18th of September of 2015) of the natural protected areas of Puerto Rico. This dataset includes all protected areas owned and managed or co-managed for the conservation of nature and its natural resources by the following agencies and organizations: Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, Para la Naturaleza, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Forest Service, Ciudadanos del Karso, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Luis Muñoz Marin Foundation, University of Puerto Rico, and the Puerto Rico National Parks Program.

The attribute table provides information about each protected area: year when the protected area was first established, name, type of protected area, management agency, GIS calculated area in hectares and acres, whether the protected area is terrestrial or marine, and source of the data. Boundaries may not represent legal boundaries or may not be up to date. Protected areas are very dynamic and there are already new ones in process of designation and/or delimitation. This file will be regularly updated as new protected areas emerge and old boundaries are updated. These boundaries represent the most recent information available as of September of 2015. This version of the protected areas shapefile was last updated on the 18th of September of 2015.

This file is the product of a collaborative effort through the Caribbean Landscape Conservation Cooperative (CLCC), Protected Areas Conservation Action Team (PA CAT), which aims to compile, analyze and improve protected areas data for Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands, identifying recommendations along the way to improve the protected areas network and data sharing protocols of both countries. For more information please visit: