DOI: 10.5061/dryad.dbrv15fcw
title: The Threatened Species No-Go Mapping Tool: An online open-access land-use decision support tool that identifies areas of importance for highly sensitive species of conservation concern

description: Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history, with
 anthropogenic drivers causing significant alteration of 75% of the world’s
 land surface. The resultant habitat loss is driving more species than ever
 towards extinction, with range-restricted, endemic species most at risk.
 Nevertheless, it is unrealistic to believe that development will suddenly
 cease; thus, achieving conservation goals whilst simultaneously promoting
 sustainable development requires integrated landscape planning, spatial
 prioritization, and the enforcement of appropriate legislation. Here, we
 introduce an open-access, online tool that maps the locations of these
 most imperiled of species within South Africa. The Threatened Species
 No-Go Mapping Tool’s primary objective is to inform the placement of
 proposed potentially detrimental developments in order to encourage
 early-stage Environmental Impact Assessment rejection or avoidance.
 Furthermore, from an applied conservation viewpoint, the tool allows one
 to assess the extent to which these No-Go Areas fall within the country’s
 Protected Area network. We show how this information can be used to focus
 conservation efforts and guide protected area expansion plans, ultimately
 helping in safeguarding the most vulnerable species. Finally, we discuss
 how the tool can be adapted and adopted in other regions/countries with
 high levels of range-restricted, endemic species. Solution: By mapping the
 distribution of the most range-restricted, threatened species, the
 Threatened Species No-Go Mapping Tool informs the placement of proposed
 potentially detrimental developments in order to encourage early-stage
 Environmental Impact Assessment rejection or avoidance. As a result,
 unnecessary cost to the developer and the responding interested and
 affected parties can be avoided, ultimately reducing the irreversible loss
 of critical habitat.
description: # The Threatened Species No-Go Mapping Tool: An online open-access
 land-use decision support tool that identifies areas of importance for
 highly sensitive species of conservation concern Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.dbrv15fcw](10.5061/dryad.dbrv15fcw) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The multipolygon shapefile (and supporting files)
 available here is the key layer, which is included in  The Threatened
 Species No-Go Mapping Tool: an online open-access land-use decision
 support tool that identifies areas of importance for highly sensitive
 species of conservation concern in South Africa. The attribute table of
 the shapefile has the following relevant fields, and we provide a brief
 description: THEME - Animals or Plants SENSFEAT - Scientific Name
 RL_STATUS - IUCN Red List Status - VU = Vulnerable - EN = Endangered - CR
 = Critically Endangered - CEPE = Critically Endangered Presumed Extinct -
 ER = Extremely Rare AREA_Km2 - Area (km2) Potential Use: Either the entire
 dataset, or a subset (e.g., Only Animals, or only Critically Endangered
 species) can be intersected with a user-defined area to assess whether the
 area contains a threatened species no-go area. ## Code/software The live
 Tool can be viewed
 at: [https://nogo.ewt.org.za/](https://nogo.ewt.org.za/) Supporting
 documentation can be located
 [here ](https://ewt.org/resources/no-go-map-tool/?_gl=1*4s4t2w*_gcl_au*MTE0NzY1NDAwMy4xNzM2MjU1Mjc0*_ga*MjEzNjY2ODE5OC4xNjk1MzgwNjgw*_ga_1342LQ3KGT*MTc0MjM3NTI3MC42Mi4wLjE3NDIzNzUyNzAuNjAuMC4xNDk0ODIzODQ1*_ga_FDKBTSWM3H*MTc0MjM3NTI3MC42Mi4wLjE3NDIzNzUyNzAuNjAuMC4xMTAzODY5MDU3*_ga_S96E7N3NKK*MTc0MjM3NTI3NC42MC4wLjE3NDIzNzUyNzQuMC4wLjA.&_ga=2.127024077.1191887495.1742375275-2136668198.1695380680)or within the associated manuscript published in the journal of Ecological Solutions and Evidence. The associated publicly accessible GitHub repository is available at:  [https://github.com/DomHenry/no-go-zones-map](https://github.com/DomHenry/no-go-zones-map) ## Access information Data was derived from the following sources: * Shapefiles for the South African Protected Areas Database ([DFFE 2023a](https://egis.environment.gov.za/data_egis/data_download/current)), Renewable Energy Development Zones ([DFFE, 2023b](https://egis.environment.gov.za/data_egis/data_download/current)), and Renewable Energy Applications ([DFFE, 2023c](https://egis.environment.gov.za/data_egis/data_download/current)) are hosted by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment at [https://egis.environment.gov.za/data_egis/data_download/current](https://egis.environment.gov.za/data_egis/data_download/current). * Cadastral data for South Africa ([DALRDD, 2023](https://csg.drdlr.gov.za)) can be requested from the Chief Surveyor General’s office at [https://csg.drdlr.gov.za](https://csg.drdlr.gov.za). * Critical Biodiversity Area shapefiles ([SANBI, 2023b](https://bgis.sanbi.org/)) can be downloaded from the South African National Biodiversity Institute at [https://bgis.sanbi.org/](https://bgis.sanbi.org/).