Important Bird Areas
Overview
Important Bird Areas, or IBAs, are sites that provide essential
habitat for one or more species of bird. IBAs include sites for
breeding, wintering, and/or migrating birds. IBAs may be a few acres
or thousands of acres, but usually they are discrete sites that
stand out from the surrounding landscape. IBAs may include public
or private lands, or both, and they may be protected or unprotected.
To qualify as an IBA, sites must satisfy at least one of the following criteria. The site must support:
- Species of conservation concern (e.g. threatened and endangered species)
- Restricted-range species (species vulnerable because they are not widely distributed)
- Species that are vulnerable because their populations are concentrated in one general habitat type or biome
- Species, or groups of similar species (such as waterfowl or shorebirds), that are vulnerable because they occur at high densities due to their congregatory behavior
Identification of a site as an IBA indicates it’s unique importance for birds. Nonetheless, some IBAs are of greater significance than others. A site may be important at the global, continental, or state level. The IBA identification process provides a data-driven means for cataloging the most important sites for birds throughout the country and the world. The use of a hierarchical classification system further helps to establish priorities for conservation efforts.
Background
BirdLife International is a global coalition of more than 100 country
partner organizations. The IBA Program was initiated by BirdLife
International in Europe in the 1980's. Since then, over 8,000 sites
in 178 countries have been identified as Important Bird Areas, with
many national and regional IBA inventories published in 19 languages.
Hundreds of these sites and millions of acres have received better
protection as a result of the IBA Program.
As the United States Partner of BirdLife International, the National Audubon Society administers the IBA Program in the U.S. Audubon launched its IBA initiative in 1995, establishing programs state by state. State-based IBA programs provide conservation leaders with the flexibility to tailor the program to their individual state needs, and they also give Audubon members and local volunteers the greatest opportunities to protect sites in their communities.
Approximately forty-eight states have initiated IBA programs and more than 2,100 state-level IBAs, encompassing over 300 million acres, have been identified.
Additional Information
For additional information on the IBA project, in general, visit
the National
Audubon web site, and visit the Missouri
page for local IBA sites.
