This dataset and its metadata statement were supplied to the Bioregional Assessment Programme by a third party and are presented here as originally supplied.
Important Bird Areas (IBAs) are sites of global bird conservation importance. Each IBA meets one of four global criteria used by BirdLife International. IBAs are priority areas for bird conservation - Birds Australia aim to monitor birds at the IBAs, advocate their importance to government, and work with land-holders and other local people to conserve them.
IBAs are a site-scale conservation prioritisation only and do not imply unimportance of excluded areas. Areas not designated as Important Bird Areas may also be important for bird conservation, especially for species such as arid country and savanna species whose conservation is best addressed at landscape-scales rather than site-scales.
The IBA program is a non-government program that started in Europe in the 1980s, the USA in 1995 and has now been established across the world. In Australia, Birds Australia is coordinating the IBA program through regional networks of bird groups and conservation organisations. In partnership with Rio Tinto, Birds Australia has undertaken to identify and designate all IBAs in Australia by 2008. By late 2006, 60 IBAs had been designated and another 350 identified for assessment and nomination.
IBAs are a site-scale conservation prioritisation only and do not imply unimportance of excluded areas. Areas not designated as Important Bird Areas may also be important for bird conservation, especially for species such as arid country and savanna species whose conservation is best addressed at landscape-scales rather than site-scales.
Data supporting each IBA will be available from: http://www.birdata.com.au/iba.vm
For IBA background material, see http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/ibas/
The field [ElementID] was added by ERIN to the dataset to create a unique identifier for purposes of the BA Program.
Birds Australia (2009) Birds Australia - Important Bird Areas (IBA) 2009. Bioregional Assessment Source Dataset. Viewed 13 March 2019, http://data.bioregionalassessments.gov.au/dataset/5d488350-83b6-4e71-8d17-687ad8ff9941.
Commercial use of the Important Bird Area data is prohibited.
Citation:
When the IBA geodatabase is used any printed or digital products, it shall be cited as:
"Birds Australia (2009) Important Bird Areas of Australia. Downloaded from http://www.birdsaustralia.com.au/ibas".