NatureUganda's Important Bird Areas (IBAs) Programme works to ensure the survival of bird populations in Uganda using the concept of IBAs. IBAs are sites of global conservation importance identified using birds to locate key sites for conservation across the globe. They are practical tools for conservation. IBAs are identified using standard internationally agreed criteria, which are objective, quantitative and scientifically defensible. IBAs vary in size; however, they must be large enough to support self-sustaining populations of those species for which they are important. When selecting IBAs the existing protected area system forms the backbone of the IBA network with additional sites being added to fill in the gaps. It is therefore necessary for IBAs to be considered a part of a wider, integrated approach to conservation that includes sites, species and habitat protection. IBAs are important for other biodiversity, for example in Uganda IBAs contain various mammals, fish, reptiles and insects.
Aims of NatureUganda's IBA Programme:
The function of the IBA programme is to identify and protect a network of sites, at a scale large enough to ensure long term survival of naturally occurring bird populations. It is meant to cover the range of those bird species for which a site-based approach is appropriate. The IBA process has been used to build institutional capacity and set an effective conservation agenda for biodiversity in many countries.