Protected-area screening: overlap in hectares, protection class and restriction tier
Protected-area screening asks whether a plot overlaps a national park, a nature reserve, a wildlife sanctuary, a sustainable-use area or a water-protection zone — and by how much. ERWAY Legality Assessment answers for each plot from international protected-area records: every overlapping designation is listed on its own with its category, its protection class where the record carries one, the overlap in hectares and as a share of the plot, and the restriction tier that follows.
The match is a polygon intersection, so the answer is an area, not a distance: 4.2 hectares of an 11-hectare plot inside a strict-protection area is 38 % and tier 1, prohibited. A second designation on the same plot is reported separately, never merged into the first. Where a record carries no protection class — and many do not — the card shows the class as 'unknown' and gives the outcome 'Verification needed'. 'Unknown' does not mean 'unprotected'. The protection categories page gives the tier each category produces.
The source and its limits
The records are international protected-area records: areas placed under protection by national or international law, with their category and, where recorded, their management category. They do not carry every national designation, riparian buffer or legal-reserve rule, and a record's start date rarely allows a cut-off date to be established. Where a national register is the authority — for a permit, for a Natura 2000 appropriate assessment — the page tells you to consult it.
From category to tier
Strict protection (categories Ia–IV, national parks) is tier 1 and prohibited. Sustainable-use areas and conservation easements are tier 3, restricted. An area without a recorded class, or a nature reserve, is tier 3 with 'Verification needed'. International designations referenced in the record are tier 4; water and resource protection is tier 5 and may need a permit; forestry, military and cultural designations are tier 6, informational. The plot's tier is the strictest found on it.
The map and the export
On the intersection map the plot is drawn in red and the overlapping part darker, with one layer per source. Each finding card names the area and the map goes to it on click. The CSV and GeoJSON exports carry the category, the class, the hectares, the share and the check date per overlapping area, so the finding reaches the permit file or the credit memo without being retyped.