The concept of contemporary Protected Areas (PAs) initially came about during the 19 century as a means to delineate the and protect important natural landscapes, wildlife and unique habitats. This movement gained momentum giving rise to a network of PAs in many countries across the world and has grown exponentially since then. PAs are now considered essential for the conservation of biodiversity worldwide. Today, the total global PA network numbers more than 202,000 protected areas covering about 14.7 % of the world's land surface (Jones et al., 2018) which are legally kept aside to achieve the long-term conservation of nature and cultural values (Dudley, 2008) as a way of keeping a set of PAs representative of the diverse ecosystems around the world (Lovejoy, 2006).