The following regional IBA criteria have been applied in the Middle East:

B: Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas - Middle Eastern importance

B1: Regionally important congregations

The site may qualify on any one of the three criteria listed below:

i. The site is known or thought to hold ≥ 1% of a flyway or other distinct population of a waterbird species. 

ii. The site is known or thought to hold ≥ 1% of a distinct population of a seabird species.

iv. The site is a ‘bottleneck’ site where over 5,000 storks, or over 3,000 raptors or cranes regularly pass on spring or autumn migration.

B2: Species with an unfavourable conservation status in the Middle East

The site is one of the five most important sites in the country/territory for a species with an unfavourable conservation status in the Middle East (threatened or declining throughout all or part of their range in the region) and for which the site-protection approach is thought to be appropriate.

B3: Species with a favourable conservation status but concentrated in the Middle East

The site is one of the five most important sites in the country/territory for a species with a favourable conservation status in the Middle East but with its global range concentrated in the Middle East, and for which the site-protection approach is thought to be appropriate.