The indicator Coverage of protected areas in relation to marine areas shows temporal trends in the percentage of important sites for marine biodiversity (i.e., those that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity) that are wholly covered by designated protected areas. The overall surface of protected marine areas, as a percentage of territorial water, as adopted by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). All areas of intertidal or subtidal terrain are covered, together with their overlying water and associated flora, fauna and historical and cultural features, that have been reserved by law or other effective means to protect part of or the entire enclosed environment. Only protected areas that are nationally designated are included in this indicator (Economic Exclusion Zones (EEZ) (0-200 nm). Metadata: https://environmentlive.unep.org/media/docs/projects/metadata_14_05_01.pdf, https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/files/Metadata-14-05-01.pdf