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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 1998 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
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	LC	breeding (-)	17,500 pairs	A4i
Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus roseus	LC	non-breeding (-)	50,000 birds	A4i
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor	NT	breeding (-)	10,000 pairs	A1, A4i
Lesser Flamingo Phoeniconaias minor	NT	non-breeding (-)	60,000 birds	A1, A4i
Burchell's Sandgrouse Pterocles burchelli	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus	VU	non-breeding (-)	100 birds	A1
African Spoonbill Platalea alba	LC	non-breeding (-)	369 birds	A4i
Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus	LC	resident (-)	1,500 pairs	A4i
Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus	LC	non-breeding (-)	6,000 birds	A4i
Pied Avocet Recurvirostra avosetta	LC	breeding (-)	85 pairs	A4i
Chestnut-banded Plover Charadrius pallidus	LC	breeding (-)	135 pairs	A4i
Black-winged Pratincole Glareola nordmanni	NT	winter (-)	5,000 birds	A1, A4i
Barred Wren-warbler Calamonastes fasciolatus	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Burchell's Starling Lamprotornis australis	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
Kalahari Scrub-robin Cercotrichas paena	LC	resident (1998)	present	A3
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding (-)	50,000-99,999 birds	A4iii
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	non-breeding (-)	100,000-499,999 birds	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1998. The most recent assessment (2020) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Shrubland	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	poor
Wetlands (inland)	moderate (70–90%)	moderate (70–90%)	poor

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Most of area (50–90%) covered (including the most critical parts for important bird species)	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Flamingo	Sanctuary (-)	4
-	Nata Sanctuary	Private Game Reserve (-)	2
1971	Nxai Pan	National Park (Ib)	1
1992	Makgadikgadi Pans	National Park (Ib)	41
1993	Nata	Bird Sanctuary (IV)	4

The Local Conservation Group(s) listed below are working to conserve this IBA.

Name	Year formed
Nata Santuary Trust	1988

For more information on BirdLife's work with Local Conservation Groups, please visit Spotlight on local empowerment.

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Grassland	60
Wetlands (inland)	29
Shrubland	7
Artificial/Terrestrial	1

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	-
hunting	-
nature conservation and research	-
tourism/recreation	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Makgadikgadi Pans (Botswana). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/makgadikgadi-pans-iba-botswana on 22/12/2024.