Very Large Protected Areas and Their Contribution to Terrestrial Biological Conservation

A high proportion of global coverage by protected areas is composed of relatively few very large protected areas (vLPAs); it is therefore important to understand their contribution to biological conservation. Here, using fresh analyses and a review of literature, we examine five particular contentions about existing terrestrial vLPAs: that they (1) are highly biased in environmental coverage, (2) contain low numbers of overall and rare species, (3) make limited contributions toward meeting global conservation prioritization schemes, (4) contain substantial areas of wilderness, and (5) are relatively immune to threatening processes. These contentions are generally supported. The principal contribution of vLPAs is substantial global [...]