• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important 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 List1	Season	Year(s)	Size	IBA criteria
Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus	LC	resident	1993	rare	B2
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	NT	breeding	1983	10 breeding pairs	B2
Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris	LC	winter	1993	present	B2
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	winter	1983	1,900 individuals	B1i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	1993	20,000 individuals	A4iii

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (1994) may differ.

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
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	negligible

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine		major (>10)
Desert		major (>10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
hunting	major (>10)
tourism/recreation	major (>10)
water management	major (>10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Al-Hasa lagoons (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/al-hasa-lagoons-iba-saudi-arabia on 22/11/2024.