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• Text account
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• Reference and further resources

The site was identified as important in 2017 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
White-cheeked Tern Sterna repressa	LC	breeding	2005-2017	800-1,600 breeding pairs	B2a
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	breeding	2005-2017	2,600-4,000 breeding pairs	A4, B3a

1. The current IUCN Red List category. The category at the time of the IBA criteria assessment (2017) may differ.

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2017. The most recent assessment (2017) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Reference	Actual	Units	% remaining	Result
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	3,300	2,600	breeding pairs	79	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Human intrusions and disturbance	happening now	small area/few individuals (<10%)	no or imperceptible deterioration	low
Biological resource use	happening now	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
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A comprehensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation	% overlap with IBA
2009	Al Yasat	Protected Area	100

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

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
tourism/recreation	100
nature conservation and research	major (>10)

The site is part of the private islands of the royal family.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Muhaimat Island (United Arab Emirates). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/muhaimat-island-iba-united-arab-emirates on 23/11/2024.