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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2009 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
Bridled Tern Onychoprion anaethetus	LC	resident (1987–1998)	3,000–10,000 breeding pairs	A4i
Lesser Crested Tern Thalasseus bengalensis	LC	resident (1985–1986)	850–1,000 breeding pairs	A4i

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2009. The most recent assessment (2019) is shown below.

State (condition of the key species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Forest	good (>90%)	moderate (70–90%)	near favourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Climate change and severe weather	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happen­ing now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	no deteri­oration (<1% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area of site (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A manage­ment plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1981	Great Barrier Reef	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	100
1998	Barnard Island Group	National Park (II)	100
2004	Great Barrier Reef	Marine Park (II)	96
2004	Great Barrier Reef Coast	Marine Park (II)	88

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Forest	major (>10)	Mangroves; Rainforest & vine thickets
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	minor (<10)
Marine Intertidal	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

Australian Federal Government with management the responsibility of GBRMPA.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: South Barnard Islands (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/south-barnard-islands-iba-australia on 23/01/2025.