Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

Key Biodiversity Areas

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) is an umbrella term commonly used to include areas that contribute to the global persistence of biodiversity, including vital habitat for threatened plant and animal species in terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Globally KBAs are designated based on 11 criteria defined under five broad categories of 

1.     Threatened biodiversity; 

2.     Geographically restricted biodiversity; 

3.     Ecological integrity; 

4.     Biological processes; and, 

5.     Irreplaceability. 

KBAs are identified nationally using globally standardised criteria and thresholds.

KBAs is an important approach to address biodiversity conservation at the site scale i.e. at the level of individual protected areas, concessions and land management units. 

KBAs have clearly defined boundaries

KBAs are seen as an ‘umbrella’ designation, which includes globally important sites for different taxa and realms, such as:

• Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs); 
• Important Plant Areas (IPAs); 
• Important Sites for Freshwater Biodiversity; 
• Alliance for Zero Extinction (AZE) sites. (Highest priority subset of KBAs)

KBAs are mapped by national conservation organizations using consistent global criteria and present an important approach to national gap analyses and prioritisation to increase effectiveness and establishment of protected areas as mandated by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Aichi Biodiversity Targets. In particular, Aichi Target 11 calls for an increase in the coverage of protected areas “…especially of areas of particular importance for biodiversity”. KBAs can be used to identify and document such areas of biodiversity importance. However further mechanisms are needed to legally protect the KBAs once identified, if the area is to be officially designated as a protected area. They are also of particular importance to the private sector, in providing ‘watch lists’ of sites at which development activities require a particularly high level of scrutiny to avoid negative impacts on biodiversity. Other uses of KBAs include informing safeguards and offsets design and conservation investments.

SUPPORTED BY

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), BirdLife International, Plantlife International, Conservation International, Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, and over 100 national/regional civil society and governmental conservation agencies.

YEAR OF CREATION

2004

COVERAGE

Global in extent with more than two thirds being in developing countries. The identification and delineation of KBAs is an ongoing process

CRITERIA

KBAs are identified at the national, sub-national or regional level by local stakeholders using the two globally standard criteria of vulnerability and irreplaceability. These are accompanied by globally standardized sub-criteria and thresholds

KBA identification is focused on land, freshwater, and marine environments under national jurisdiction. Beyond the exclusive economic zone (EEZ), the identification of Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Areas (EBSAs) is proposed to utilize equivalent criteria to those for KBAs plus several in addition.

MANAGEMENT

KBAs are identified, protected and monitored by national or regional-level stakeholders, often with the support of international conservation organisations including IUCN, Plantlife International, and BirdLife International. 

They are used to help set national priorities within the global context. The approach is also used to prioritise both national investment and for channelling resources for international support for globally important sites for biodiversity conservation. 

BUSINESS RELEVANCE

Legal and compliance – Identification of an area as a KBA does not necessarily lead to legal protection or recognition by national government. However, approximately 56% of the KBAs sites identified so far overlap with an existing protected area and hence have legal protection.

The identification of KBAs can also support the designation of additional protected areas. 

The criteria for KBA identification are being used by several international financial institutions to objectively assess the environmental impacts of funded projects. 

Furthermore, KBAs directly address the first criterion of the High Conservation Value (HCV) approach to identifying environmentally sensitive areas, which is ‘areas containing globally, regionally or nationally significant concentrations of biodiversity values’.

SOCIO-CULTURAL VALUES

The identification criteria for KBAs do not explicitly refer to recognition of socio-cultural values.

References:

http://www.biodiversitya-z.org/content/key-biodiversity-areas-kba