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The site was identified as internationally important for bird conservation in 2012 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
Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda	LC	breeding (2008)	285 chicks	A4ii
Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel	LC	breeding (2008)	5,472 chicks	A4ii
Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus	LC	breeding (2008)	41,243 chicks	A4i
A4iii Species group - waterbirds	n/a	breeding (2008)	42,000 chicks	A4iii

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 2012. The most recent assessment (2018) is shown below.

State (condition of the trigger species' populations)
Species	Actual vs Reference (units)	% remaining	Result
Red-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon rubricauda	371 / 285 (nests)	100	good
Lesser Frigatebird Fregata ariel	1,758 / 5,509 (nests)	32	very poor
Sooty Tern Onychoprion fuscatus	28,665 / 41,243 (nests)	70	moderate

State (condition of the trigger species' habitats)
Habitat	Quantity (% remaining)	Quality (% carrying capacity)	Result
Forest	good (>90%)	good (>90%)	good

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Biological resource use	happe­ning now	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Climate change and severe weather	likely in short term (<4 years)	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	low
Invasive and other problematic species and genes	past (and unlikely to return) and no longer limiting	whole of popul­ation/area (>90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A management plan exists, but it is out of date or not compre­hensive	Substantive conservation measures are being implemented, but these are not compre­hensive and are limited by resources and capacity	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1978	Suwarrow	National Park (IV)	99

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Forest	80	Beach and atoll forest; Dry deciduous forest (tropical)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

Suwarrow was declared a National Park some thirty years ago by the Cook Islands Government and is under the jurisdiction of the National Environment Service.

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Suwarrow Atoll National Park (Cook Islands). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/suwarrow-atoll-national-park-iba-cook-islands on 27/12/2024.