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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
Common Crane Grus grus	LC	winter (1991)	2,800 birds	B1i
Asian Houbara Chlamydotis macqueenii	VU	breeding (1991)	50 pairs	A1, B2
Black Stork Ciconia nigra	LC	passage (1991)	1,000–1,500 birds	B1i
White Stork Ciconia ciconia	LC	passage (1991)	35,000–50,000 birds	B1i, B2
Eurasian Dotterel Eudromias morinellus	LC	winter (1991)	250 birds	B1i
Northern Lapwing Vanellus vanellus	NT	winter (1991)	1,000 birds	B1i
Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius	CR	winter (1991)	21 birds	A1, B2
Collared Pratincole Glareola pratincola	LC	passage (1991)	200 birds	B1i
Greater Spotted Eagle Clanga clanga	VU	winter (1992)	21 birds	A1, B2
Eastern Imperial Eagle Aquila heliaca	VU	winter (1991)	30 birds	A1, B2
Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus	LC	breeding (1991)	1 pairs	B2
A4iv Species group - soaring birds/cranes	n/a	passage (1991)	60,000–75,500 birds	A4iv, B1iv

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
Agricultural expansion and intensification	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	high
Human intrusions and disturbance	happe­ning now	some of popul­ation/area (10–49%)	slow decline (1–10% over 3 gener­ations)	medium
Residential and commercial development	likely in short term (<4 years)	few indivi­duals/small area (<10%)	moderate decline (10–30% over 3 gener­ations)	low

Response (conservation actions taken for the trigger species and/or their habitats)
Designation	Planning	Action	Result
Little/none of area covered (<10%)	No management planning has taken place	Some limited conservation initiatives are in place	very low

Year	Protected Area	Designation (management category)	% coverage of IBA
-	Holot Nizzanim	Nature Reserve (-)	1
1967	Ha Besor	Nature Reserve (IV)	1
1969	Makhtesh Be'eri	Nature Reserve (IV)	<1
1992	Holot Mash'abbim	Nature Reserve (IV)	1

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

Land use	% of IBA
nature conservation and research	1
military	major (>10)
agriculture	minor (<10)
hunting	minor (<10)
urban/industrial/transport	minor (<10)
rangeland/pastureland	minor (<10)

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Western Negev (Israel). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/western-negev-iba-israel on 25/12/2024.