Database to safeguard the world’s most important places for nature, with BirdLife International
In 2023 The Marks Family Charitable Trust (MFCT) has renewed their partnership with BirdLife International for a further three years, to support the continued development of the World Database of Key Biodiversity Areas (WDKBA). Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are an expanding global network of the most important sites for birds and other biodiversity.
Launched in June 2022, the WDKBA provides an online system supporting the global conservation community’s action on KBAs – their identification, urgent conservation, sustainable management, and protection.
Helmeted Hornbill, a Critically Endangered species protected by BirdLife at sites in South-East Asia © Thipwan/Shutterstock
From 2023-25 the WDKBA project milestones include:
· Developing a facility for monitoring KBAs: helping the conservation community track, for each site, the status of species and ecosystems, the pressures and threats they are facing, and the conservation measures in place or needed.
· Adding alerts functionality: to alert users when their site assessments need updating or attention.
· Improving the user experience: to encourage greater participation in the WDKBA, increasing the frequency of assessments and further improving the quality of the data - improving the safeguarding of sites.
Machair grassland at North Uist KBA, Outer Hebrides, Scotland © Natasa Kirin/Shutterstock
The goals of this exciting project are ultimately to make a significant contribution to the protection of endangered biodiversity and priority habitats across the globe.
Atlantic Forest KBA, Guaraquecaba, Paraná, Brazil © vitormarigo/Shutterstock
The goals of this exciting project are ultimately to make a significant contribution to the protection of endangered biodiversity and priority habitats across the globe.
BirdLife is working to protect KBAs such as the Tagus Estuary in Portugal from development © odd_bird/Shutterstock
The WDKBA is playing a critical role in supporting countries in their efforts to reach regional and global targets such as Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework (agreed by governments at the UN Biodiversity Conference (COP 15) in Montreal in December 2022) to protect and effectively conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030, and many other regional and national policy objectives that deliver biodiversity conservation.
Eurasian Crane family © Piotr Krzeslak/Shutterstock
Further Links:
Sites & Habitats (IBAs and KBAs)
Integrated Biodiversity Assessment Tool (IBAT)
Imagery in this article was provided by Birdlife International: copyright is detailed above.