Data Zone
Country/territory: China (mainland)
IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2009)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here
Area: 961,800 hectares (9,618.00 km2)
Site description (2009 baseline)
Located between Nyainqêntanglha Mountain and the eastern Himalayas, adjacent to India. The IBA includes well-developed glaciers and part of the ‘big bend’ area of the Yarlong Zangbo river (known as the Brahmaputra in its lower reaches), which is the deepest and longest canyon in the world. The vegetation shows prominent zonation, with lowland tropical rainforest and semi-evergreen rainforest (600-1,100 m), broadleaf evergreen forest (1,100-2,200 m), coniferous forest (2,800-4,000 m) and alpine scrub and grassland (above 4,000 m).
Key biodiversity
Non-bird biodiversity: Nationally protected animals include Presbytis entellus, Panthera tigris, Selenarctos thibetanus, Ursus arctos, Selenarctos thibetanus, Ailurus fulgens, Capricornis sumatraensis, Moschus chrysogaster and Naemorhedus cranbrooki.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Yarlung Zangbo Daxiagu Nature Reserve (China (mainland)). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/yarlung-zangbo-daxiagu-nature-reserve-iba-china-(mainland) on 23/12/2024.