Important Bird Areas in Egypt (IBA)
IBAs are sites that provide essential habitat for one or more species of bird. IBAs include sites for breeding, wintering, and migrating birds (or combinations of all three).
The IBA criteria are divided into four categories based on vulnerability and scale:
- A1 - Species of Global Conservation Concern
- A2 - Assemblage of Restricted-range species
- A3 - Assemblage of Biome-restricted species
- A4i - ≥1% biogeographic population of a waterbird simultaneously; ≥5% over a season
- A4ii - ≥1% global population of a seabird or terrestrial species simultaneously; ≥5% over a season
- A4iii - ≥20,000 waterbirds / ≥10,000 seabirds
- A4iv - Any migration aerial bottleneck where ≥5% population of a migratory waterbird, or ≥5% global population of a migratory seabird or terrestrial species passes during a season
Thus an IBA should be a prime birdwatching destination.
At the moment, 34 IBAs are recognized in Egypt, but several more are eligible for inclusion because of recent surveys. However, only a few of the established IBAs are protected by law, and even in those that are, the law is not enforced. The Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) and especially the more enthusiastic National Park Rangers do not have the authority or the resources to enforce it.
Actual IBA`s in Egypt:
1. Wadi Gerafi
29° 55' North 34° 40' East
100000ha IBA criteria: A3
2. Ras Mohamed National Park
27° 44' North 34° 15' East
48000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4iv
3. St.Katherine Protectorate
28° 20' North 33° 55' East
435000ha IBA criterion: A3
4. El Qa Plain
28° 10' North 33° 40' East
200000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4iv
5. Quseima
30° 39' North 34° 22' East
2000ha IBA criterion: A3
6. Gebel Maghara
30° 45' North 33° 33' East
100000ha IBA criteria: A1, A3
7. Nabq Protected Area
28° 16' North 34° 26' East
6000ha IBA criterion: A3
8. Zaranik Protected Area
31° 7' North 33° 25' East
25000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i
9. Tiran Island
27° 56' North 34° 33' East
3100ha, IBA criteria: A1, A4i
10. Suez
29° 58' North 32° 33' East
5000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4iv
11. Ain el Sokhna
29° 35' North 32° 20' East
15000ha IBA criteria: A1, A3, A4iv
12. Lake Burullus
31° 29' North 30° 50' East
46000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i, A4ii
13. Lake Idku
31° 14' North 30° 11' East
7000ha IBA criteria: A4ii
14. Lake Maryut
31° 7' North 29° 54' East
6000ha IBA criteria: A4i
15. Lake Quarun Protected Area
29° 28' North 30° 38' East
25000ha IBA criteria: A4i, A4iii
16. Bitter Lakes
30° 20' North 32° 15' East
6000ha IBA criteria A4i
17. El Malaha
31° 13' North 32° 19' East
3500ha IBA criteria: A4i, A4iii
18. Lake Maryut
31° 7' North 29° 54' East
6000ha IBA criteria: A4i
19. Lake Manzala
31° 17' North 32° 4' East
77000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i, A4iii
20. Wadi El Ryan Protected Area
29° 13' North 30° 22' East
71000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i
21. Wadi El Natron
30° 28' North 30° 16' East
2000ha IBA criterion: A4i
22. Upper Nile
25° 9' North 32° 43' East
15000ha IBA criteria A1, A4i, A4iii
23. Aswan Reservoir
24° 0' North 32° 54' East
1500ha IBA criterion: A1
24. Lake Nasser
23° 6' North 32° 44' East
540000ha IBA criteria A1, A4i, A4iii
25. Hurghada Archipelago
27° 28' North 33° 49' East
150000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i, A4ii
26. Wadi Gamal Island
24° 40' North 35° 10' East
200ha IBA criteria A1,A4i, A4ii
27. Qulan Islands
24° 22' North 35° 23' East
300ha IBA criterion: A1
28. Zabargad Island
23° 37' North 36° 12' East
450ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i,A4ii
29. Siyal Islands
22° 47' North 36° 11' East
200ha IBA criteria: A1, A4i
30. Rawabel Islands
22° 25' North 36° 32' East
100ha IBA criterion: A1
31. Gebel Elba
22° 15' North 36° 19' East
500000ha IBA criterion: A3
32. Abraq Area
23° 25' North 34° 48' East
100000ha IBA criterion: A3
33. El Qasr Desert
31° 5' North 26° 35' East
700000ha IBA criterion A3
34. Gebel El Zeit
27° 51' North 33° 30' East
100000ha IBA criteria: A1, A4iv
For more details about IBA`s in Egypt, please visit the web page of Birdlife International.