For many species, including birds, effective conservation depends on targeting resources at the site scale. Sites of particular significance for birds have been identified by BirdLife International and designated Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). Effective protection and management of the more than 12,000 IBAs recognized to date would make an enormous contribution towards ensuring the survival of many bird species and much other biodiversity besides. It would also help secure the vital ecosystem services that these sites provide.

Using a set of standardised selection criteria, more than 12,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) have been identified in over 200 countries and territories (). Originally developed and applied in terrestrial and freshwater environments, IBA criteria have more recently been applied in the marine realm (). Wherever possible, the process of IBA identification is led by the national BirdLife Partner organisation. This ensures local knowledge informs the process as well as building engagement and capacity which improves prospects for subsequent monitoring and conservation action at each site. By late 2012, seven continental directories, 130 national IBA inventories and a global marine e-atlas had been published, in a variety of languages ().

Protecting critical habitat across a network of IBAs can be an effective way of conserving species, often capturing a large proportion of the total population at relatively few key sites. For instance, safeguarding the Blue Swallow Hirundo atrocaerulea (classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List) in Africa would be significantly enhanced through the effective protection of a network of 34 IBAs, which cover only a small fraction of the species’s overall range (). Establishing networks of IBAs can be particularly important for migrants, such as the Blue Swallow, which typically utilise a series of widely separated sites through the course of their annual migrations ().

Evidence shows that IBAs also support a wealth of other biodiversity (, , ). For instance, in East Africa, the IBA network captures 97% of the region’s endemic mammals, 90% of its globally threatened mammals, and 92% of its endemic snakes and amphibians (). IBAs consequently provide an effective ‘first cut’ for an overall network of Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs), sites significant for wider biodiversity conservation globally (). Robust measures are needed if biodiversity is to be maintained in the face of climate change. Safeguarding the existing network of IBAs (in conjunction with adaptation measures and the identification of additional sites) will play a key role in mitigating the worst impacts of a changing climate on birds and on other wildlife ().

The conservation of IBAs not only helps biodiversity—many provide a wide range of services that benefit humans, both locally and globally (). In particular, healthy, biodiverse environments help provide resilience against the consequences of as the effects of drought, crop failure, flooding, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events (, , ). Community engagement and involvement in IBA conservation is vital. This is increasingly being achieved through the actions of Local Conservation Groups (LCGs). Currently numbering over 2,000 worldwide, LCGs foster local participation in conservation and often focus on the most marginalised community members (). The results of such local involvement can lead to significant conservation benefits (, ).

Data on IBAs are being used to inform environmental impact assessments through, for example, the Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT)—a decision support tool for business, government and conservation ().

IBAs can make a crucial contribution in showing where current protected area systems ‘miss’ key species, and so inform how best these gaps can be plugged. Thus, in Europe, BirdLife’s IBA inventory has been adopted as a ‘shadow list’ that is being used to inform how the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs) should be expanded and improved (). In many regions, these inventories have been used to identify potential Ramsar sites (wetlands of international importance) while, worldwide, ‘gap analyses’, comparing the locations of IBAs with national protected-area networks, have helped countries implement the CBD’s Programme of Work on Protected Areas (POWPA) ().

The IBA Protection Index measures the degree to which IBAs are covered by protected areas and provides a useful metric to judge progress in reducing biodiversity loss (). The IBA indices show that sites with formal protection are in better and more stable condition than those without (). Currently, a high proportion of IBAs remain unprotected, including many that hold globally threatened species () and only around 25% of IBAs have full legal protection.

The world’s IBAs are monitored using a standardised and simple framework. Such monitoring, carried out by local groups, volunteers, government staff and BirdLife Partners, provides information about how populations and habitats are faring, gives early warnings of threats affecting sites and provides feedback on the effectiveness of conservation actions to address these threats. Such data, when aggregated across sites, are used to calculate indices which provide powerful measures of status and trend across IBA networks, at national and regional scales (). By monitoring the pressures facing IBAs, BirdLife Partners have identified a subset of sites at particularly high risk of losing their biodiversity value, owing to intense threats and inadequate protection or management. The resulting list of 356 ‘IBAs in Danger’ provides an essential focus for action by governments, development agencies, intergovernmental agreements, businesses and wider civil society, in order to mitigate these threats and prevent further damage or loss ().

	BirdLife International (2014) Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas: A global network for conserving nature and benefiting people. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. This booklet provides a detailed overview of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs)—the largest and most comprehensive global network of sites that are significant for the global persistence of biodiversity.
	BirdLife International (2014) Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Danger—priority sites for immediate action. Cambridge, UK: BirdLife International. This leaflet profiles the 2014 IBAs in Danger list of 356 sites in 122 countries worldwide that face intense threats and need urgent attention. Examples from across each region highlight the diversity of pressures and the urgency with which actions are required.

To access case studies on Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas, please click on the following links.

• Birds have huge popular appeal, and the amount of information about them is impressive
• To date, more than 10,000 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas have been identified
• Numbers and types of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas vary between regions
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for the marine environment are being identified in many regions
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for globally threatened species: Blue Swallow
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in biomes: an example from north-central Africa
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for congregatory species: Eurasian Spoonbill
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas including habitat fragments and the surrounding matrix: an example from Kenya
• What are Key Biodiversity Areas?
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas are also important for other terrestrial vertebrates in East Africa
• Forest IBAs are effective at capturing a large proportion of other forest biodiversity in Uganda
• The IBA network in Uganda is effective at capturing butterflies, dragonflies and some plants
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas hold internationally important numbers of other animals or plants in Turkey
• A network of critical sites for migratory waterbirds is being identified across Africa and Eurasia
• Agriculture and forestry are key drivers of habitat destruction in Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas
• In Argentina, agriculture and settlement are increasingly fragmenting native grasslands
• Agricultural intensification threatens Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Europe
• Uranium Mining and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Namibia: a need for strategic environmental assessment
• When planning for development does not integrate environmental issues, biodiversity suffers
• Large dams and barrages are an increasing threat to wetland-dependent birds
• In current global markets, oil palm plantations are valued more highly than ancient forest
• National biodiversity legislation and planning are failing biodiversity and need strengthening
• What do the National Reports to the Convention for Biological Diversity tell us?
• Many IBAs are recognised under global or regional conventions, but many remain neglected
• Business needs to take biodiversity on board
• Understanding local needs: the role of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in people’s livelihoods
• The impact of Important Bird and Biodiversity Area directories
• Many African IBAs, including those holding threatened birds, have no legal recognition or protection
• The IBA Protection Index tracks trends in the protection of key areas for biodiversity
• In the European Union there has been slow but significant progress in the legal recognition of IBAs
• Maintaining bird populations in Special Protection Areas in the European Union
• In Africa, recognition of the value of IBAs is resulting in the designation of new protected areas
• In Kenya, IBA monitoring shows the value of formal protection for biodiversity conservation
• Identification of Lo Go Xa Mat as an IBA in Vietnam resulted in its being declared a national park
• In Timor-Leste, in 2007, three IBAs were linked and protected as the first National Park
• Protected-area designation may not be the full, or best, solution for conserving African IBAs
• The Berga Floodplain Site Support Group - a local initiative for a globally important site
• Safeguarding Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas is key to tackling conservation in the face of climate change
• Community conservation action is showing success on Mount Oku, Cameroon
• IBAT tools for Environmental Impact Assessments
• Monitoring Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in Africa
• Working together to conserve flamingos at a network of sites in the High Andes
• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas can help inform an ecologically representative network of protected areas
• Developing civil society networks to conserve Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in eastern Nepal

Links
IBA Factsheets

IBAs in Danger

IBAs in Danger Story Map

Marine IBA e-atlas

IBA Programme

BirdLife science—conserving sites

10,000 sites to save, Global Important Bird Areas

Compiled 2010, updated 2012, 2014

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2014) Spotlight on Important Bird Areas. Presented as part of the BirdLife State of the World's Birds website. Available from: https://datazone.birdlife.org/sowb/spotibas