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

The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2013 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
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	winter (1989)	25 birds	B1i, B2
Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus	LC	passage (1986)	240 birds	B1i
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata	NT	winter (1995–2011)	min 30 birds	A1
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	non-breeding (1986)	166 birds	B3
Saunders's Tern Sternula saundersi	LC	breeding (1986)	10–20 pairs	B3

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2013. 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	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	rapid decline (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	very low

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Shrubland	13
Forest	1
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	major (>10)
Marine Intertidal	major (>10)
Desert	minor (<10)
Marine Neritic	minor (<10)

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

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Al-'Urj (Yemen). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/al-urj-iba-yemen on 25/12/2024.