Marine Conservation E-Atlas Launched

Reprinted from Audubon Chapter Leader Update


BirdLife International has launched the first global inventory of important sites for the conservation of migratory  marine species. The new e-Atlas covers 3,000 Important Bird Areas (IBAs) worldwide. It is the result of six years of effort that, to date, has involved the world’s leading seabird scientists in collaboration with government departments of conservation, environment and fisheries, and the secretariats of several international bird conservation conventions.

The e-Atlas provides essential information for conservation practitioners and policy makers; for energy sector planners (windfarms, gas and oil exploration and drilling); for fisheries managers; for marine pollution management planners; and for the insurance industry. Like a Google Map, the e-Atlas will be dynamically updated as new sites are identified and new data about them become available. It will be linked to other BirdLife data resources, including BirdLife’s species accounts, IBA fact sheets and State of the World’s Birds case studies.

Experience the IBA e-Atlas at www.birdlife.org/datazone/marine.