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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
Eurasian Spoonbill Platalea leucorodia	LC	breeding (1993)	10–15 pairs	A4i, B1i
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis	LC	resident (1993)	65 pairs	B1i
Sooty Gull Larus hemprichii	LC	resident (1993)	50–100 pairs	B3

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
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	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
Whole area (>90%) covered by appropriate conservation designation	A compre­hensive and appropriate management plan exists that aims to maintain or improve the populations of qualifying bird species	Not assessed	medium

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
1977	Umm al-Qamari Islands	محمية ذات طبيعة خاصة (Ia)	37
1977	Umm al-Qamari Islands	Protected Area (II)	100

Habitat	% of IBA	Habitat detail
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	major (>10)
Shrubland	major (>10)
Marine Neritic	minor (<10)

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	100

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Umm al-Qamari (Saudi Arabia). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/umm-al-qamari-iba-saudi-arabia on 24/12/2024.