Key Biodiversity Areas
Encyclopedia
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) are a way of identifying areas of international importance in terms of biodiversity conservation using globally standardised criteria. KBAs extend the Important Bird Area
(IBA) concept to other taxonomic groups and are now being identified in many parts of the world, by a range of organisations. Examples include Important Plant Areas
(IPAs), Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the High Seas, Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites, Prime Butterfly Areas, Important Mammal Areas and Important Sites for Freshwater Biodiversity, with prototype criteria developed for freshwater molluscs and fish and for marine systems. The determnation of KBAs often brings sites onto the conservation agenda that hadn't previously been identified as needing protection due to the nature of the two non-exclusive criteria used to determine them; vulnerabilty; and irreplaceability
Ecoregions
Crisis Ecoregions
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas
Biodiversity Hotspots
Biosphere Reserves
Protected Areas
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird Area is an area recognized as being globally important habitat for the conservation of bird populations. Currently there are about 10,000 IBAs worldwide. The program was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife International...
(IBA) concept to other taxonomic groups and are now being identified in many parts of the world, by a range of organisations. Examples include Important Plant Areas
Important Plant Areas
Important Plant Areas provide a framework for identifying and maintaining the richest sites for plantlife, possibly within an existing protected area, though the protection of the IPA itself is not legally enforced. The term plantlife in this case refers to any number of species, encompassing...
(IPAs), Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the High Seas, Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites, Prime Butterfly Areas, Important Mammal Areas and Important Sites for Freshwater Biodiversity, with prototype criteria developed for freshwater molluscs and fish and for marine systems. The determnation of KBAs often brings sites onto the conservation agenda that hadn't previously been identified as needing protection due to the nature of the two non-exclusive criteria used to determine them; vulnerabilty; and irreplaceability
Objectives
- Develop technical and conservation capacity within individual countries and on a global scale
- Develop partnerships between key organisations – both governmental and nongovernmental – concerned with site conservation
- Build broad understanding of the process, and broad ownership of the final site list
- Focus any new survey work on the most important gaps in knowledge
See also
Conservation biologyConservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
Ecoregions
Crisis Ecoregions
Crisis Ecoregions
Crisis ecoregions are terrestrial biomes facing significant threat to their biodiversity and requiring well directed conservation efforts in order to curb the irreversible loss of plant and animal species and their surrounding habitats...
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas
High-Biodiversity Wilderness Areas is an elaboration on the IUCN Protected Area classification of a Wilderness Area , which outlines five vast wilderness areas of particularly dense and important levels of biodiversity...
Biodiversity Hotspots
Biosphere Reserves
Protected Areas