IRREPLACEABLE
The rock-solid criteria
we use to identify IBAs
is now being used as
the foundation for Key
Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)
– a new standard in site-
based conservation which
expands the concept
beyond birds to all life on
our planet
Zoltan Waliczky
THE FUTURE
OF IBAS
ey Biodiversity Areas (or
KBAs for short) are the new
game in town. They
represent the unified
currency for site conservation, building
on four decades of success of the IBA
programme and similar concepts. KBAs
go beyond birds: these are well-defined
sites that are exceptionally important
for maintaining the species and
ecosystems that make up the rich
tapestry of life on Earth.
Thirteen of the biggest global
conservation organizations, among
them BirdLife and the RSPB (BirdLife in
the UK), have joined to form the KBA
Partnership and put KBAs on the map.
They will achieve this by targetting a
wide range of stakeholders, including
governments, international institutions
and the private sector. Knowing where
KBAs are and why they are important
should help (among other things) drive
K
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the expansion of the global protected
area network and plan future
development and land uses that are
compatible with their outstanding value
for nature. It is equally important to
work with local communities living in
and around KBAs to make these sites
the cornerstone of local sustainable,
nature-friendly development.
Although more than 16,000 KBAs
have already been identified, there is
still a long way to go to catalogue KBAs
for all the major animal and plant
groups, and for all ecosystems. National
coordination groups, whose work is to
bring together experts to identify KBAs
in a systematic, bottom-up way, have
only been established in a minority of
countries so far due to lack of capacity
and resources. Collecting and analysing
data on the distribution of different life
forms is resource-intensive, and
funding is difficult to secure for this sort
of work despite the urgency of the
biodiversity crisis. Civil society
organizations are leading the way,
establishing regional and global
structures to help the process of
documenting KBAs and making this
information accessible to all.
There is a great opportunity lying in
the power of the KBA Partnership and
their hundreds of national partners.
Working collaboratively to secure the
future of the most important sites for
nature means that resources can be
allocated efficiently and synergies
exploited. Advocating with a single
voice against harmful developments
and for more effective management
and conservation of these sites can
have greater impact on decision-
makers at all levels. KBAs need to be
the cornerstone for the post-2020
conservation agenda that will be
BIRDLIFE • OCT-DEC 2019