During 2006-2009, many Australian locations were nominated to be registered internationally as Important Bird & Biodiversity Areas (IBAs). More recently, the generic name for these has become Key Biodiversity Area (KBA). There is no legal standing to a KBA (unless such standing exists for other reasons) but it brings a higher profile for an area. For an area to be classified as a KBA it has to meet criteria set by BirdLife International. One important criterion is whether the area hosts significant numbers of any species that are endangered, have restricted ranges or congregate in large groups (with >1% of the world population). From the nomination/ selection process now completed, seven KBAs lie within or in some cases straddle the Hunter Region:
- Hunter Estuary KBA: based on records for 6 species of shorebird/waterbird (this KBA also includes Hexham Swamp NR, Tomago Wetlands and Pambalong NR)
- Lake Macquarie KBA: based on Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot records
- Cabbage Tree Island/Boondelbah Island KBA: based on Gould’s Petrel records
- Lower Hunter Valley KBA: based on Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot records
- Barrington Tops /Gloucester Tops KBA: based on records for Rufous Scrub-bird and 6 rainforest species
- Mudgee-Wollar KBA: based on Regent Honeyeater and Swift Parrot records (for us, the important part of this IBA is Goulburn River NP)
- Greater Blue Mountains KBA: based on Rockwarbler and 5 other species (for us, the important part of this IBA is Wollemi NP and Yengo NP)
If you would like to know more about KBAs, go to http://birdlife.org.au/projects/KBA And if you would be interested in becoming involved with one or more of the KBAs, please contact us.
Much of our Field Studies program is KBA focussed. Outcomes are reported in various ways (e.g. see our Publications page).