Biodiversity is not evenly distributed around the planet: some locations are disproportionately significant. Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs) are sites identified by BirdLife International as being globally significant for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity, based on a set of standardised, data-driven criteria. The image above is the most up to date (May 2025) map of the world’s 14,021 IBAs in 250 countries covering 11,195 bird species across 16 flyways.