Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas: A global network for conserving nature and benefiting people (2014)
Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites of international significance for the conservation of the world’s birds and other biodiversity. They also provide essential benefits to people, such as food, materials, water, climate regulation and flood protection, as well as opportunities for recreation and spiritual fulfilment.
Since the late 1970s, over 12,000 IBAs have been identified in virtually all of the world’s countries and territories, both on land and at sea. Many hundreds of protected areas have been designated as a direct consequence of their recognition as IBAs. IBAs have also had considerable and increasing relevance in developing responses to a number of wider environmental issues, such as habitat loss, ecosystem degradation, sustainable resource use and climate change.
