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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation 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 List	Season (year/s of estimate)	Size	IBA criteria
Sand Partridge Ammoperdix heyi	LC	resident (1991)	present	B3
Garganey Spatula querquedula	LC	passage (1991)	2,000 birds	A4i, B1i
Common Crane Grus grus	LC	passage (1991)	2,600 birds	A4i, B1i
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	LC	passage (1991)	350–1,000 birds	A4i, B1i
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	passage (1991)	12,000–18,000 birds	A4i, B1i
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	passage (1991)	143 birds	A4i, B1i
Eurasian Bittern Botaurus stellaris	LC	winter (1991)	1 birds	B2
Black-winged Stilt Himantopus himantopus	LC	passage (1991)	300 birds	B1i
Desert Tawny Owl Strix hadorami	LC	resident (1991)	1–2 pairs	B3
Lappet-faced Vulture Torgos tracheliotos	EN	non-breeding (1991)	present	B2
Levant Sparrowhawk Accipiter brevipes	LC	passage (1991)	15,000 birds	B2
Sooty Falcon Falco concolor	VU	breeding (1991)	1 pairs	B2
Arabian Warbler Curruca leucomelaena	LC	resident (1991)	20–40 pairs	B3
Arabian Babbler Argya squamiceps	LC	resident (1991)	200 pairs	B3
Tristram's Starling Onychognathus tristramii	LC	resident (1991)	present	B3
Hooded Wheatear Oenanthe monacha	LC	resident (1991)	2–15 pairs	B3
Dead Sea Sparrow Passer moabiticus	LC	breeding (1991)	15–35 pairs	B3
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage (1991)	29,950–36,600 birds	A4iv, B1iv

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2013) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of area covered (10–49%)	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Desert	major (>10)
Artificial/Terrestrial	minor (<10)
Rocky areas (eg. inland cliffs, mountain peaks)	minor (<10)
Savanna	minor (<10)
Shrubland	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	14
rangeland/pastureland	major (>10)
agriculture	minor (<10)
tourism/recreation	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Northern Arava valley (Israel). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/northern-arava-valley-iba-israel on 24/12/2024.