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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 1994 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting ('triggering') IBA criteria.

Populations meeting IBA criteria ('trigger species') at the site:

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Great Cormorant Phalacrocorax carbo	LC	winter (1991)	2,603–8,000 birds	A4i, B1i
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	passage (1993)	135 birds	B3
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	breeding (1993)	8–12 pairs	B3
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	passage (1993)	14,000 birds	A4i, B1i, B3
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	breeding (1993)	120–250 pairs	B3
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	passage (1993)	8,000 birds	A4i, B1i, B3
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	passage (1993)	4,800 birds	A4i, B1i
Sandwich Tern Thalasseus sandvicensis	LC	passage (1993)	2,000–3,000 birds	A4i, B1i

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Residential and commercial development	likely in short term (<4 years)	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Not assessed	low

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	major (>10)
Desert	minor (<10)
Marine Neritic	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
military	major (>10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)
fisheries/aquaculture	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Abu Ali (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/abu-ali-iba-saudi-arabia on 23/12/2024.