Protected areas: Making responsible, evidence‑based sourcing decisions

Under EUDR and for voluntary DCF commitments, a “protected area” flag is neither a green light nor an automatic red line. The starting point is legality and conservation: what are the protected area objectives, what does national law allow, and can we document compliance?

IBAT provides authoritative protected and conserved area data, the World Database on Protected and Conserved Areas (WDPCA). Meridia adds the missing layers: national and local permissions, legal context, on-the-ground checks, and audit-ready evidence packs.

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