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• Text account
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• Reference and further resources

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
White-headed Duck Oxyura leucocephala	EN	passage (1982)	1 birds	A1
Marbled Duck Marmaronetta angustirostris	NT	passage (1982)	20 birds	A1, A4i
Ferruginous Duck Aythya nyroca	NT	passage (1982)	20 birds	B1i, B2
Great Bustard Otis tarda	EN	winter (1976)	16–22 birds	A1
Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius	CR	passage (1982)	4 birds	A1

Ideally the conservation status of the IBA will have been checked regularly since the site was first identified in 1994. The most recent assessment (2014) is shown below.

Pressure (threats to the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Threat	Timing	Scope	Severity	Result
Agricultural expansion and intensification	likely in short term (<4 years)	most of popul­ation/area (50–90%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Biological resource use	likely in long term (>4 years)	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Some of area covered (10–49%)	No management plan exists, but the management planning process has begun	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	low

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Artificial/Terrestrial	major (>10)
Grassland	minor (<10)
Wetlands (inland)	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
agriculture	major (>10)
hunting	major (>10)
rangeland/pastureland	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tual al-'Abba (Syria). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tual-al-abba-iba-syria on 23/12/2024.