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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2000 because it was regularly supporting significant populations of the species listed below, meeting IBA criteria.

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

Species	Red List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Black Francolin Francolinus francolinus	LC	resident (1999)	min 25 breeding pairs	B2
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	passage (1999)	abundant	B1i
Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus	EN	resident (1999)	rare	B2
Arabian Babbler Argya squamiceps	LC	resident (1999)	20–40 breeding pairs	B3
Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus	LC	resident (1999)	50 breeding pairs	B3
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage (1999)	abundant	B1iv

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2000. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	high

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

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
2011	Mujib Biosphere Reserve	UNESCO-MAB Biosphere Reserve (UA)	46

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Maghtas - Sweimeh (Jordan). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/maghtas--sweimeh-iba-jordan on 23/01/2025.