Presentation to APBON 12th Workshop

Introduction toKey Biodiversity Areas
Andy Plumptre,
Head KBA Secretariat
22nd January 2021

© Gregoire© Anup Dubois
Shah© Gregoire Dubois

KBAs are defined as:“sites contributing
significantly to the global
persistence of biodiversity”© Andrea Schieber

Areas of importance for biodiversity
The CBD recognized the need toconserve“…areas of particular importance forbiodiversity…”
in Aichi Target 11

Areas of importance for biodiversity• Many different approaches atvarious scales• Most conservation action
occurs at the site scale• BirdLife International’s successhas led to similar approaches
for other taxa
• But, this can be confusing for
decision-makers…

Need for a global standard
World Conservation Congress inBangkok in 2004:• IUCN members recognized the needfor a unifying framework for
identifying important sites across all
biodiversity

Regional Consultations
Stakeholder
engagement

Online consultation
End Users Consultations

Technicalpapers

KBAStandard
Technical Working groups
Testing

Framingworkshop

Criteria &Delineation

Rules &procedure
Editorial team

Thresholds

MarineGlobal consultation processA unifying framework• Key Biodiversity Areas providean umbrella framework
designed to harmonize existing
approaches• For the first time, theconservation community has
rallied around a commonapproach

A Global Standard• The KBA Standard: adopted by IUCN
Council and launched at the World
Conservation Congress in Hawaii in2016• The KBA Partnership: 13 leading nature
conservation organisations committed
to identify, map, monitor and conserve
KBAs

CRITERIA
Population
reduction

A Global Standard
A globally standardized science-based
approach for identifying KBAs
Definitions, criteria and quantitative
thresholds designed to ensure that KBA
identification is:• objective• repeatable• transparent

Restricted
geographic
range
Small
population
size & decline
Very small orrestricted
population
Quantitative
analysis

Quantitative
thresholds

RED LISTCATEGORIESThe criteria are applicable to marine,
freshwater, terrestrial and subterranean systems

Source: SANBI 2019

KBA Criteria
KBA criteria are designed tocapture biodiversity at genetic,
species and ecosystem levels
Collectively, the criteria aim tocapture the various ways inwhich a site can be important
for the global persistence ofbiodiversity

A. Threatened biodiversity
B. Geographically restricted biodiversity
C. Ecological integrity
D. Biological processes
E. Irreplaceability through quantitative
analysis

A. Threatened biodiversity

A1. Threatenedspecies
A2. Threatened
ecosystem types©Robin Moore© Alison Woodley

B. Geographically restricted biodiversity
B1. Individual geographicallyrestricted species
B2. Co-occurring geographicallyrestricted species
B3. Geographically restrictedassemblages
B4. Geographically restrictedecosystem types©Robin©Moore
Arthur Haines

C. Ecological integrity©Robin Moore© Jürgen Freund / WWFD. Biological processes
D1: Demographic
aggregations
D2: Environmentalrefugia
D3: Recruitment
sources© Dimitri
B.
© Peter Chadwick/ WWF

E. Irreplaceability through quantitative analysis(a) Representing at least X
mature individuals of eachspecies(b) Representing at least an
area of Y km2 for eachspecies©Robin Moore

Thresholds
A. Threatened biodiversity
Site regularly holds one or more of the following:
Biodiversity element at site
A1: Threatened species(a) CR/EN species(b) VU species…
…
(e) Single-site CR/EN species% Global population/extent
units

Reproductive(a) ≥0.5%≥5(b) ≥1%

≥10…
…
entire population

Note. Low thresholds
for threatened species
are precautionary

Assessment parameters
i. number of mature individuals
ii. area of occupancyiii. extent of suitable habitat
iv. range
v. number of localities
vi. distinct genetic diversity

Delineating KBAs
1

• Delineation is the process of defining thegeographic boundaries of a KBA• Aim is to derive KBA boundaries that areecologically relevant yet practical formanagement• Required step in KBA identification• It occurs in consultation with rights-holders
and other relevant stakeholders

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The image on this slide will be switched out as soon as Jessica develops it
GWC, 2020/06/13

KBAs inform national, regional, and global
decision-making• Policy support to description of sites underinternational conventions• Targets and indicators for CBD biodiversity
targets and Sustainable Development
Goals (14.5, 15.1, 15.4)• Protected area creation & expansion• Allocation of conservation funding• Private and public sector environmental
safeguards

KBAs and otherconservation initiatives• KBAs use data from Red List of Species
and Red List of Ecosystems, species
population data and genetic diversity
data• KBAs can then inform a variety ofprocesses to better target conservation
resources and contribute to halting
biodiversity loss

Protected area coverage of KBAs

Used by business and financing institutions• Guidelines for Businesses and governments
developed around KBAs
• KBAs – Critical Habitat (IFC, Equator Principles,Socete Generale)• Banks and biodiversity no-go policy:
http://banksandbiodiversity.org

World Database of KBAs

Query information: World Database of KBAs

www.keybiodiversityareas.org

KBAs identified nationally• KBAs are identified at a national level• Encourage the establishment of KBA National Coordination Groups

KBAs and AP-BON• Biodiversity data generated by AP-BON
can be used to identify KBAs
• Provision of more accurate range andSuitable Habitat Maps for species tohelp identify KBAs
• KBAs provides a means of turning
biodiversity data into concreteconservation results at a national level• AP-BON efforts can help monitor KBAs
and their trigger elements• Professor Y. Trisurat – KBA Community
Representative for Asia

Tools for learning more about the KBA criteria,delineation and proposal process

KBA Community• KBA Community:
chair.kba.community@keybiodiversityareas.org
Professor Y. Trisurat – Community
Representative for Asia
Dr M. Crosby and Dr M. O’Brien – Regional Focal
points for Asia and Pacific respectively• www.keybiodiversityareas.org