Wiktionary
n. 1 (context cricket English) the central, rectangular area of the pitch onto which the bowlers may not run during their follow through 2 (context conservation biology English) an area where natural values are protected. The most common definitions of protected areas are those of the IUCN (World Conservation Union) .
Wikipedia
Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological and/or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the enabling laws of each country or the regulations of the international organisations involved. The term "protected area" also includes Marine Protected Areas, the boundaries of which will include some area of ocean, and Transboundary Protected Areas that overlap multiple countries which remove the borders inside the area for conservation and economic purposes. There are over 161,000 protected areas in the world (as of October 2010) with more added daily, representing between 10 and 15 percent of the world's land surface area. By contrast, only 1.17% of the world's oceans is included in the world's ~6,800 Marine Protected Areas.
Protected areas are essential for biodiversity conservation, often providing habitat and protection from hunting for threatened and endangered species. Protection helps maintain ecological processes that cannot survive in most intensely managed landscapes and seascapes.
Usage examples of "protected area".
The huge beast, twice the size of the largest horse, knew from the appearance of the horses that they had encountered wolves, and retreated awkwardly to a protected area.
It seemed that it had simply passed by my protected area and would continue until it got to wherever it was going.
He put on a mask of a pleasant expression, and waited for An'desha to enter the protected area between the two doors.
Glancing up at the gorge wall, he knew he didnt have the energy to carry the elk to the ridge, so he decided to follow the dry riverbed south until he found a protected area to camp.
Finally the blue light signals appeared and they were let into the protected area.
In those days hunters tended to carry big game back to the village and butcher it in a protected area.
Two chims, in fact, sat within the protected area, near the sharp-beaked Gubru.
Within the protected area were a series of square-edged ponds, some of them greenish or maroon from the crops grown there.
Their best choice was to flee and hope to find a place of refuge or a protected area in which they could make a stand.
When he was finished, he sat crosslegged under the roofed section, behind the protected area, and tossed out the small statuette that he carried in his pack.