AE005
Khor Al Beidah


IBA Justification

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2017 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('key species') at the site:
Species Red List Season (year/s of estimate) Size IBA criteria
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis LC non-breeding (2010–2015) 210–310 individuals B3a
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus LC non-breeding (2010–2015) 1,000–2,000 individuals B3a
Greater Sandplover Charadrius leschenaultii LC passage (2010–2015) 850–2,000 individuals B3a
Charadrius mongolus NR winter (2010–2015) 1,700–4,000 individuals A4, B3a
Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris EN winter (2010–2015) 60–88 individuals B3a
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola LC winter (2010–2015) 350–450 individuals B2a

IBA Conservation

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2017. The most recent assessment (2017) is shown below.

IBA conservation status
Year of assessment State Pressure Response
2017 near favourable high very low
Whole site assessed? State assessed by Accuracy of information
yes population poor

State (condition of the key species' populations)
Species Actual vs Reference (units) % remaining Result
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis 210 / 170 (individuals) 100 favourable
Kentish Plover Charadrius alexandrinus 1,500 / 250 (individuals) 100 favourable
Charadrius mongolus 1,700 / 800 (individuals) 100 favourable
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata 150 / 800 (individuals) 19 not assessed
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica 900 / 1,000 (individuals) 90 near favourable
Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris 58 / 50 (individuals) 100 favourable
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola 400 / 500 (individuals) 80 near favourable
A4iii Species group - waterbirds 2,750 / 2,800 (individuals) 99 favourable

State (condition of the key species' habitats)
Habitat Quantity (% remaining) Quality (% carrying capacity) Result
Forest good (>90%) good (>90%) favourable
Marine Coastal/Supratidal good (>90%) good (>90%) favourable
Marine Intertidal good (>90%) good (>90%) favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat Timing Scope Severity Result
Biological resource use happen­ing now most of popul­ation/area (50–90%) slow deteri­oration (1–10% over 3 gener­ations) high
Residential and commercial development likely in short term (within 4 years) some of popul­ation/area (10–49%) rapid deteri­oration (>30% over 3 gener­ations) high
Transportation and service corridors happen­ing now few individ­uals/small area (<10%) moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations) low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation Planning Action Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%) No manage­ment planning has taken place Very little or no conservation action taking place very low


Habitats

Habitat % of IBA Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal major (>10)
Marine Intertidal major (>10)
Desert minor (<10) Hot
Forest minor (<10) Subtropical & tropical mangrove
Marine Neritic minor (<10)

Land use

Land use % of IBA
fisheries/aquaculture major (>10)
tourism/recreation minor (<10)
rangeland/pastureland minor (<10)


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khor Al Beidah (United Arab Emirates). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khor-al-beidah-iba-united-arab-emirates on 03/02/2025.