IBAs and Why They Matter

BirdLife International initiated the Important Bird Area (IBA) program in the mid-1980’s. The main goals of the program were to identify, conserve and monitor the world’s most critical places for bird populations.

IBAs are priority areas where threatened, restricted-range, biome-restricted and congregatory birds occur.

Birds are the best documented, and are often thought to be the most efficiently monitored, of all animal and plant groups. For these reasons, birds are often chosen for environmental monitoring efforts.

Places rich in bird species are generally rich in other forms of biodiversity. When IBAs are maintained, there is value for birds and non-birds alike. As such, maintaining IBAs contributes to conservation objectives beyond birds.

IBAs are critical for people and their communities. Human health and wellness are increased when people are reconnected with natural places such as IBAs. Visiting IBAs can be a way for people to de-stress, relax or engage in physical and social activities. Enjoying an IBA does not require expensive or specialized equipment, therefore, most people could so so without concern for potential financial barriers.

Many IBAs are wetlands. These sites provide environmental services, such as maintaining freshwater and reducing the impact of extreme weather events including floods and droughts.

In Canada, BirdLife International’s national partners are Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada. The Federation of Alberta Naturalists (FAN) has taken on the coordination of the IBA program at the provincial level in Alberta where forty-eight sites have been declared IBAs. Other provincial level partners have taken on coordination and delivery of the IBA program in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Quebec and Nova Scotia. It is hoped that all provinces and territories will be represented in the collaborative effort to identify, conserve and monitor Canada’s premier bird places.

Currently, FAN is working to establish, coordinate and assist the efforts of a network of volunteer caretakers across Alberta. Caretakers could choose to be involved in a variety of work such as working on the ground to increase the profile of IBAs, engage with local people that live near IBAs, count birds and assess habitat conditions at IBAs.

An individual, a group of individuals or an organization could be caretakers. FAN will also work to help increase the profile of Alberta’s IBAs by creating an interactive website that will take people to Alberta’s IBAs virtually. Our technological age is often cited as one of the main reasons that people have lost their connection with nature. In a “fight fire with fire” approach, we will use technology to reconnect people.

Awareness of IBA sites and the program will be increased by doing presentations at public events, publishing articles and bring the public and media out for “Big Birding Days”.

Delivery of the IBA program is about collaboration and partnership. The program is a coming together of people who feel that birds and the habitats that support their populations are critical. The goal of these combined efforts is to ensure that people will recognize the importance of the world’s most important places for birds and support efforts to monitor and conserve these sites.

The preceding article was reprinted with permission from the Federation of Alberta Naturalists. Written by Chuck Priestly and Vid Bijelic, it appeared in the Autumn 2009 issue of Nature Alberta. If you would like to learn more about, or participate in the Alberta IBA program, please contact Chuck Priestly at chuck@fanweb.ca or (780) 427-8124.

Bird Studies Canada and Nature Canada are thrilled to announce the launch of a new website for the Canadian Important Bird Areas (IBA) Program. The site’s main goals are to share information about IBAs in Canada, and to empower more Canadians to reconnect with nature as volunteers for the IBA Caretaker Network.

The new, fully bilingual website provides information, tools, and mapping features to help IBA partners and volunteers more effectively monitor birds and assess conditions at key sites. There are nearly 600 Canadian IBAs, many of which are not legally protected.

To learn more or get involved, visit the IBA Canada website or contact Bird Studies Canada’s IBA Technical Coordinator, Janet Moore, at jmoore@birdscanada.org.