Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) are geographical regions that have been determined to be of international importance in terms of

biodiversity Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...

conservation, using globally standardized criteria published by the

IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the status ...

as part of a collaboration between scientists, conservation groups, and government bodies across the world. The purpose of Key Biodiversity Areas is to identify regions that are in need of protection by governments or other agencies. KBAs extend the Important Bird Area (IBA) concept to other taxonomic groups and are now being identified in many parts of the world. Examples of types of KBAs include Important Plant Areas (IPAs), Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the High Seas, Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites, Prime

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

Areas, Important

Mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

Areas and Important Sites for Freshwater Biodiversity, with prototype criteria developed for freshwater

molluscs Mollusca is a phylum of protostome, protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant taxon, extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum ...

and fish and for marine systems. The determination 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; vulnerability; and irreplaceability. The KBA global standard was published in 2016.

Objectives

* Develop technical and conservation capacity within individual countries and on a global scale * Develop partnerships between key organizations – 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

Criteria

The criteria for what can qualify as a KBA is one or more of the following: # Contains a significant number of

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

species relative to the global population; contains ecosystems that are threatened on a global scale # Contains species, taxonomic groups, or ecosystems that are confined to small geographic zones # Is relatively untouched by human activity # Holds congregations of species at important life stages, such as "breeding, feeding or during migration" or the spawning of offspring; is a "refuge" where species retreat from temporary negative environmental conditions # Has a high level of irreplaceability, or "how close a site is to being essential for achieving conservation targets"

Reception

The KBA standard has been applied around the globe to over 16,000 areas with a total 21,000,000 km², which can be viewed in map form. It is used by scientists to assess fragmentation and

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...

in vulnerable areas, and is generally seen as an effective method of identifying areas in need of protection. Some criticism involves the scale of KBAs, such as the use of global data to set parameters for single regions or ecosystems, as well as the lack of involvement of local governments and other authorities- especially in developing countries- in their implementation.Andrew T. Knight, Robert J. Smith, Richard M. Cowling, Philip G. Desmet, Daniel P. Faith, Simon Ferrier, Caroline M. Gelderblom, Hedley Grantham, Amanda T. Lombard, Kristal Maze, Jeanne L. Nel, Jeffrey D. Parrish, Genevieve Q. K. Pence, Hugh P. Possingham, Belinda Reyers, Mathieu Rouget, Dirk Roux, Kerrie A. Wilson, Improving the Key Biodiversity Areas Approach for Effective Conservation Planning, ''BioScience'', Volume 57, Issue 3, March 2007, Pages 256–261, https://doi.org/10.1641/B570309 Other issues raised include the defining of conservation strictly in terms of location, and the naming of single species as important to the environment rather than the interconnectivity between species and doesn't prioritize areas that are dense in biological diversity. Some argue, however, that KBAs are meant to be a "focused response to a central problem in conservation"{{cite journal , url=https://doi.org/10.1641/B570816 , doi=10.1641/B570816 , title=Clarifying the Key Biodiversity Areas Approach , date=2007 , last1=Bennun , first1=Leon , last2=Bakarr , first2=Mohamed , last3=Eken , first3=Güven , last4=Da Fonseca , first4=Gustavo A. B. , journal=BioScience , volume=57 , issue=8 , page=645 rather than a catch-all solution. Criteria may also be too broad, as one analysis found that between 26% and 68% of all terrestrial land on Earth could be classified as a KBA.

References

External links

A-Z of Areas of Biodiversity Importance: Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA)
Biodiversity Ecoregions

Objectives

Criteria

Reception

See also

References

External links