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• 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
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	winter	1970-1977	442 individuals	B1i
Grey Heron Ardea cinerea	LC	winter	1970-1977	400 individuals	B1i
Goliath Heron Ardea goliath	LC	resident	1976-1977	7 individuals	A4i, B1i, B2
Great White Egret Ardea alba	LC	winter	1970-1977	445 individuals	B1i
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	LC	resident	1977	50 breeding pairs	B1i
Western Reef-egret Egretta gularis	LC	winter	1970-1977	458 individuals	B1i
Dalmatian Pelican Pelecanus crispus	NT	winter	1970-1977	100-210 individuals	A1, A4i, B1i, B2
Great Thick-knee Esacus recurvirostris	NT	resident	1977	4 breeding pairs	B3
Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus	NT	winter	1970-1977	331 individuals	B1i
Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata	NT	winter	1970-1977	5,850 individuals	A4i, B1i
Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica	NT	winter	1970-1977	2,410 individuals	A4i, B1i
Terek Sandpiper Xenus cinereus	LC	winter	1970-1977	1,000 individuals	B1i
Common Redshank Tringa totanus	LC	winter	1970-1977	3,000 individuals	B1i
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	resident	1977	20 breeding pairs	B3
Crab-plover Dromas ardeola	LC	winter	1970-1977	940 individuals	A4i, B1i, B3
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus	LC	winter	1970-1977	20,000 individuals	A4i, B1i
Caspian Gull Larus cachinnans	LC	winter	1977	3,000 individuals	B1i
Common Gull-billed Tern Gelochelidon nilotica	LC	winter	1970-1977	355 individuals	A4i, B1i
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus	EN	breeding	1977	5 breeding pairs	B2
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus	EN	winter	1977	35 individuals	B2
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	winter	1977	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 (1994) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Pollution	happening now	some of area/population (10-49%)	slow but significant deterioration	medium
Residential and commercial development	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Not assessed	Not assessed	Not assessed	not assessed

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
1975	Khuran Straits	Ramsar Site, Wetland of International Importance	100
1976	Hara	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve	86
1982	Hara	Protected Area	86
2001	Hara-e Khoran	Protected Area	2

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Marine Coastal/Supratidal		major (>10)
Desert		minor (<10)
Forest		minor (<10)
Marine Neritic		minor (<10)

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100
fisheries/aquaculture	major (>10)
forestry	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Khouran Straits (Iran, Islamic Republic of). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/khouran-straits-iba-iran-islamic-republic-of on 23/11/2024.