Important Bird Areas capture much other biodiversity

Guven Eken/BirdLife Over 70% of Turkey's IBAs also hold internationally important numbers of other animals or plants Zoom In

The Important Bird Area network effectively captures a high proportion of threatened, endemic and representative wildlife species other than birds. We can therefore use birds as indicators for key biodiversity areas, especially when data on other groups are poor or patchy.

Important Bird Areas are key biodiversity areas

Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are part of a larger network of key biodiversity areas — the most important sites for terrestrial biodiversity conservation worldwide. Key biodiversity areas form the anchors of a systematic ecological network. Like IBAs, they are identified based on the species they hold. We generally have good data on the status and distribution of bird species. However, the information for many other species is poor or patchy, often making it hard to identify the critical sites for these species.

Important Bird Area networks conserve much biodiversity in addition to birds

There is growing evidence that networks of IBAs, though identified using information on birds, are disproportionately important for other animals and plants. That is to say, IBA networks are good at capturing threatened, endemic and representative species for other terrestrial groups. The effectiveness of the IBA network has already been shown for terrestrial vertebrates in East Africa; globally threatened wildlife species in the mountains and coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania (see pdf case study, box 1); butterflies, large moths, small mammals and woody plants in Ugandan forests (box 2); butterflies and dragonflies in all Ugandan habitats (box 3); and plants, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and freshwater fish in Turkey (box 4). It appears that IBAs can be used with confidence as a 'first cut' for the overall network of key biodiversity areas, with extra sites for other taxa being added when data become available.

Boxes: case studies and scientific analyses

Download SOWB pp.28–29 (PDF, 429 KB) containing the following:

1. IBAs effectively capture terrestrial vertebrates across East Africa, and globally threatened wildlife species in an East Afrcan 'hotspot'
Includes a study in the Eastern Arc mountains and coastal forests of Kenya and Tanzania

2. Uganda's 13 'forest' IBAs capture 89% of the butterfly, large moth, small mammal and woody plant species recorded in an inventory of 50 Forest Reserves

3. Uganda's 30 IBAs capture 74% of butterfly species and 84% of dragonfly species recorded from the country, and higher proportions of those species of greatest conservation concern
The percentage of Ugandan butterfly species represented in Ugandan IBAs in each of six conservation priority categories

4. Over 70% of Turkey's IBAs also hold internationally important numbers of other animals or plants
Number of taxon groups in addition to birds for which Turkey's 156 IBAs hold internationally significant populations