Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites identified using standardized criteria as globally important for conserving birds and, increasingly, wider biodiversity.

BirdLife International: BirdLife International is a global partnership of conservation organizations focused on birds and their habitats. It developed the IBA framework and coordinates its global application.
Site conservation: Site conservation protects or manages a particular place to maintain its ecological values. IBA status can focus attention on sites needing targeted management.
Convention on Biological Diversity: The Convention on Biological Diversity is a global treaty addressing biodiversity conservation, sustainable use, and benefit sharing. Its biodiversity targets create policy context for recognizing and conserving important sites.
International Council for Bird Preservation: The International Council for Bird Preservation was an international organization founded in 1922 to promote bird conservation. Its work preceded BirdLife International and the organized global identification of IBAs.
Key Biodiversity Areas: Key Biodiversity Areas are sites that contribute significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity. The KBA standard builds on IBA criteria and covers biodiversity beyond birds.
Environmental impact assessment: Environmental impact assessment evaluates likely environmental effects before a proposed project proceeds. IBA boundaries and data can flag sites where development needs scrutiny.
Aichi Biodiversity Targets: The Aichi Biodiversity Targets were a set of 20 global biodiversity targets adopted for 2011–2020. Target 11 called for conserving areas important for biodiversity, including sites such as IBAs.
European Union Birds Directive: The European Union Birds Directive is legislation for conserving wild birds and their habitats across the EU. Its Special Protection Areas drew on IBA inventories as a scientific basis for site selection.
IUCN Red List: The IUCN Red List assesses species’ extinction risk using standardized categories and criteria. Threatened-species assessments help establish whether a site meets IBA criteria.
Important Marine Mammal Areas: Important Marine Mammal Areas are ocean areas identified for their significance to marine mammals. This parallel designation applies site-identification methods to a different group of animals.

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