Key Biodiversity Area

Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) are geographical regions that have been determined to be of international importance in terms of biodiversity conservation, using globally standardized criteria published by the IUCN as part of a collaboration between scientists, conservation groups, and government bodies across the world.

[1] The purpose of Key Biodiversity Areas is to identify regions that are in need of protection by governments or other agencies.

[1] KBAs extend the Important Bird Area (IBA) concept to other taxonomic groups and are now being identified in many parts of the world.

[14] Some argue, however, that KBAs are meant to be a "focused response to a central problem in conservation"[15] rather than a catch-all solution.

Criteria may also be too broad, as one analysis found that between 26% and 68% of all terrestrial land on Earth could be classified as a KBA.

A map showing the proportion of terrestrial Key Biodiversity Areas that are covered by designated protected areas by country
A map showing the proportion of freshwater Key Biodiversity Areas which are covered by designated protected areas by country