• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Map
• 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
Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris	NT	breeding	1997	250-999 individuals	A1, A4i, B1i, B2
Black-headed Gull Larus ridibundus	LC	winter	1975	60-4,000 individuals	A4i, B1i
Greater Spotted Eagle Clanga clanga	VU	winter	1975	2 individuals	B2
Basra Reed-warbler Acrocephalus griseldis	EN	breeding	1985	present	A1, A2, B2

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 (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	majority/most of area/population (50-90%)	moderate to rapid deterioration	high

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Protected areas	Management plan	Other action	Result
Little/none of site covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Not assessed	negligible

Habitat1	Habitat detail	% of IBA
Wetlands (inland)		100

1. IUCN Habitat classification.

Land use	% of IBA
unknown	-

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Shatt Al Arab marshes (Iraq). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/shatt-al-arab-marshes-iba-iraq on 23/11/2024.