Gap analysis

How far is an area from its protection targets?

Draw an area, or tap the sea and choose a radius, and Biohotspot lists the habitats inside it, how much of each, what is already protected, and how far each habitat is from its protection target. It also shows who uses the area and which data is missing.

Check an area on the mapBrowse marine parks

What the check covers

Habitats and how much of each the area holds; existing protection, from the marine protected areas of Australia in CAPAD 2024 (5,337 areas) and the world layers on protection; the uses of the sea the area overlaps; and each habitat's share of its protection target, now and with the new zone. Where an area has no local planning data, the answer comes from world maps and is marked as a rough estimate.

How to run it

  1. 1Open the map and tap the sea, or choose Draw an area at the top left.
  2. 2Press Plan this area. Nothing is calculated until you do. Change the radius with the slider if you need a bigger or smaller zone.
  3. 3Read the habitats against their targets, then go on to Simulate to try ways to close the gaps.

Marine parks already checked

Each Australian marine park with enough open data has its own page, with its area, zones, IUCN categories, habitats, blue carbon and pressures, every figure with its source and licence: Australian marine parks.

More of what Biohotspot does