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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
Malleefowl Leipoa ocellata	VU	resident (1989–2008)	500 individuals	A1

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
Shrubland	very poor (<40%)	very poor (<40%)	very unfavourable

Pressure (threats to the key species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	happen­ing now	whole popul­ation/area (>90%)	rapid deteri­oration (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	very high
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happen­ing now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	high
Energy production and mining	likely in short term (within 4 years)	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	rapid deteri­oration (>30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Natural system modifications	likely in long term (beyond 4 years)	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	moderate deteri­oration (10–30% in 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the key species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of site covered (10–49%)	No manage­ment plan exists, but the manage­ment planning process has begun	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not comprehensive and are limited by resources and capacity	low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Southern Mallee	Protected Area (-)	9
1981	Willandra Lakes Region	World Heritage Site (natural or mixed) (UA)	6
1983	Mallee Cliffs	National Park (Ia)	7
2010	Kemendok	National Park (II)	<1
2010	Euston	Regional Park (V)	<1
2011	Mungo	State Conservation Area (II)	<1
2012	Mungo	National Park (II)	2

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Shrubland	95	Chenopod shrubs, samphire shrubs and forblands; Mallee shrublands & woodlands
Artificial/Terrestrial	5	Arable land

Land use	% of IBA
rangeland/pastureland	72
nature conservation and research	28

Mostly leasehold but also NSW NPWS.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Southern NSW Mallee (Australia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/southern-nsw-mallee-iba-australia on 13/01/2025.