Yet, human activities are destroying and degrading these Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) and Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) around the world.
Imagine this: an airport obliterating the Portuguese estuary where Europe’s largest gathering of Black-tailed Godwits once fed.
And this: apartments eradicating Australian mudflats where a tenth of the world’s Far Eastern Curlews formerly foraged.
Both tragedies-in-waiting were averted earlier this year thanks to the BirdLife International Partnership, safeguarding both the Black Tailed Godwits and Far Eastern Curlews – as well as several other species.
Sadly, even when a habitat has been assessed as important, it doesn’t mean it is safe. Since 2013, nearly 400 IBAs across roughly 50 countries have faced such intense pressures, we’ve needed to classify them as ‘IBAs in Danger’ – sites in need of urgent conservation action to save birds and other wildlife.
All the time, sites are being threatened, including by development, agriculture, deforestation and sometimes illegal hunting putting birds at risk.
Saving sites is a never-ending battle. Across the world, we are continuously engaged in safeguarding IBAs and KBAs, but we can’t do this alone. Currently, resource constraints demand tough decisions when picking which sites we should save.
We need your help to scale up our work to protect these habitats under threat, as well as the birds that depend on them. Donate today to help protect critical habitats from destruction and help over 1 million species on the brink of extinction. Our evidence-backed approach ensures your support will always go where it’s needed most.
