What are Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)?
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are the most important natural spaces globally for safeguarding vulnerable species and ecosystems that are either endangered or on the brink of collapse, respectively. These areas are identified using the best available scientific evidence about populations of flora, fauna, or microorganisms, and the extent and condition of ecosystems that are most threatened or have a highly restricted distribution. In other words, Key Biodiversity Areas are sites where we strive to ensure the long-term persistence of species, habitats, and ecosystems, thereby securing the future of the planet and its life forms, as well as the future of all people and communities.
The KBA Alliance is a collaboration of international conservation organizations dedicated to identifying, documenting, and promoting KBAs globally. The Alliance was launched in 2016 and currently has 13 members. The KBA Secretariat, based in Cambridge, United Kingdom, coordinates the Alliance’s activities and oversees the implementation of the KBA Program Strategic Plan. For more information, visit the KBA website: https://www.keybiodiversityareas.org/
The KBA program continuously supports the identification, mapping, monitoring, and conservation of these most relevant places for nature. With over 16,000 sites identified worldwide, the KBA program also contributes by promoting their management and inclusion in each country’s network of protected areas.
How do KBAs contribute to the effective conservation and management of biodiversity?
1. Biodiversity Crisis
The loss of biodiversity is occurring at an alarming rate. Despite efforts in recent decades to reduce human pressures on ecosystems, the number of species and ecosystems on the brink of extinction or collapse, respectively, continues to increase. Thus, biodiversity loss is a global crisis in itself, with significant negative repercussions for humankind.
As populations of flora or fauna diminish or as habitats and natural ecosystems are altered by human activity, the ecosystem services upon which we depend are lost, thereby affecting the well-being of people, public health, and food security. Furthermore, biodiversity loss can interact synergistically with other risk factors, such as climate change, resulting in even greater and unpredictable consequences.
Under this scenario, a significant strategy to drive nature conservation and ensure the future of humanity is precisely the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). These areas have been identified as “sites of particular importance for biodiversity” and their purpose is to contribute to the conservation, management, and stewardship of those spaces where the most vulnerable biodiversity is found, through collaborative actions with society, authorities, local communities, and indigenous people
2. Respect for Indigenous Peoples and Community Development
It is often believed that establishing spaces for biodiversity conservation restricts access to natural resources, alters the livelihoods of local communities or indigenous peoples, and limits their development. However, this is not the case when it comes to a Key Biodiversity Area (KBA).
KBAs do not limit or restrict the rights and livelihoods of local communities and indigenous peoples in any way. On the contrary, in their conception, KBAs not only consider and respect the rights of communities over their territory but also seek to promote conservation through management and improvement in the quality of life for people.
3. KBAs ensure the provision of ecosystem services or benefits for society.
Biodiversity as a whole (populations, species, ecosystems, and landscapes) is the fundamental basis of the goods, resources, and benefits we receive from nature, which have enabled the development of our society and each of its communities. Together, these goods, resources, and benefits are referred to as “ecosystem services” or “environmental functions,” and some are as important and tangible as: obtaining food and raw materials, regulating the climate, pollinating crops, preventing natural disasters, or protecting watershed headwaters and water provisioning.
In this sense, KBAs not only protect threatened or restricted species identified in each site but also guarantee the long-term protection and provision of ecosystem services and environmental functions that are the fundamental support of life systems and the well-being of all people and communities, especially those living there, in contact with KBAs.
4. KBAs in decision-making on nature conservation and management
KBAs, as sites of particular importance for biodiversity, are a valuable tool for decision-making regarding nature conservation and the management of natural resources. They are sites that allow for the expansion or complementation of countries’ systems of protected areas or for prioritizing strategic conservation and management areas. They are of interest to agencies that finance the management and conservation of natural resources so they can decide where and how to allocate economic resources and, above all, for international agencies and private companies financing development projects or productive projects to ensure the avoidance and mitigation of negative environmental impacts.
5. Global commitments for biodiversity conservation and management
Over the past three decades, various international commitments have been made with the purpose of safeguarding biodiversity as a whole, with consideration for both nature itself and the survival of humanity. However, little progress has been made in fulfilling such commitments.
Recently, at the United Nations Conference of the Parties for the Environment “COP15”, held in Canada, it was ratified as an urgent goal to protect at least 30% of land and marine surfaces under effective conservation and management measures no later than 2030. This commitment is known as the 30×30 Goal (Convention on Biological Diversity. Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, Decision CBD/COP/DEC/15/4. United Nations Environment Programme, 2022).
Given this scenario and the urgent need to promote effective conservation and management of natural spaces for the benefit of humanity, KBAs constitute not only a tool but also a valuable opportunity to achieve the 30×30 target.
The "Bezos KBA" Project
Thanks to funding from the Bezos Earth Fund, BirdLife International is carrying out the project “Key Biodiversity Areas: Establishing the 30×30 Plan.” This ambitious project aims to comprehensively update and expand KBA networks in four countries in the Tropical Andes (Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia) and three countries in the Congo Basin (Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Republic of the Congo), as a contribution to significantly meeting global conservation goals by 2023. A fundamental part of the project is the establishment of National KBA Coordination Groups and collaborative work among expert groups and institutions, utilizing relevant biodiversity data.
In Bolivia, the project is implemented by the Civil Association Armonía (a BirdLife International partner).
Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) in Bolivia
Bolivia occupies a privileged geographical position, allowing it to possess a wide range of ecological regions and ecosystems. From the high peaks of the Andes and the Altiplano to the Amazon, passing through the inter-Andean dry valleys, the Chaco, and the Chiquitanía. This ecological diversity positions Bolivia among the 20 most biodiverse countries in the world, with 5,896 cataloged species of flora, fauna, invertebrates, and fungi evaluated by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a figure that is constantly being updated.
However, Bolivian biodiversity also faces various serious threats. Factors such as land use change, habitat fragmentation, pollution, and the introduction of exotic species pose serious risks to many species and their habitats. Currently, the IUCN classifies 63 species in Bolivia as critically endangered, 145 as endangered, and 270 as vulnerable. Additionally, another 160 species are categorized as near threatened.
The KBA initiative in Bolivia has a long history. In the mid-2000s to 2010s, several Important Bird Areas (IBAs) were identified or assessed for the conservation of birds and some other species. Thus, by 2022, 65 KBAs had been identified in Bolivia, which collectively protect 312 species of native flora and fauna (232 birds, 53 plants, 21 amphibians, 3 mammals, and 3 reptiles). However, at that time, our knowledge about biodiversity and its wild populations in various sites in Bolivia was still limited.
Many of Bolivia’s Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) overlap with national and subnational protected areas, highlighting their value as sites of particular importance for global biodiversity and their contribution to the management of resources and the natural heritage of all Bolivians.
Collaborative Work - National Coordination Group
In an unprecedented milestone in the field of conservation in Bolivia, a group of 22 organizations, including universities, NGOs, museums, and leading herbariums in the country, motivated by the same goal of “contributing to the conservation of the country’s nature, for the future of all its people,” collaborate to carry out the KBA initiative. Additionally, more than 150 biodiversity experts are collaborating directly or indirectly to assess, identify, and delineate KBAs throughout Bolivia, with the aim of incorporating more species and ecosystems that urgently need protection.
The National Coordination Group (NCG) for KBAs in Bolivia was established in August 2022. It serves as a platform for the government, non-governmental organizations, scientific institutions, museums, universities, indigenous communities, and the private sector to identify and propose KBAs in Bolivian territory, ensure they can be effectively conserved, and promote their inclusion in public policies and legislation. Currently, the NCG is comprised of XXX members.
Consolidating the effective conservation of Bolivia’s KBAs will enable the country to achieve the primary objective of the Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), which is to halt biodiversity loss.
The challenge of conserving biodiversity and the benefits we derive from it is significant, but it is achievable by promoting the creation of spaces for biodiversity management and conservation, such as Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs). This management will be possible if we join efforts with local communities, indigenous peoples, and our authorities.
We need to understand and re-value our intimate relationship with nature to harmonize development and conservation, for the benefit of our own future.
