A peer-reviewed open-access journal BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) doi: 10.3897/biorisk.3.12 & BioRisk www.pensoftonline.net/biorisk Biodiversity & Ecosystem Risk Assessment The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 Clayton Rubec', Azzam Alwash?, Anna Bachmann? | Centre for Environmental Stewardship and Conservation, Ottawa, Canada 2 Nature Iraq, Sulaiamani, Kurdistan, Iraq Corresponding author: Clayton Rubec (rubec@rogers.com) Academic editors: F Krupp , I. Weidig | Received 13 March 2009 | Accepted 3 December 2009 | Published 28 December 2009 Citation: Rubec C, Alwash A, Bachmann A (2009) The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and Scope 2004-2008. In: Krupp K Musselman LJ, Kotb MMA, Weidig I (Eds) Environment, Biodiversity and Conservation in the Middle East. Proceedings of the First Middle Eastern Biodiversity Congress, Aqaba, Jordan, 20-23 October 2008. BioRisk 3: 39-53. doi: 10.3897/biorisk.3.12 Abstract Nature Iraq conducted biological surveys throughout Iraq during the 2004 to 2008 period under the Key Biodiversity Areas (KBA) Project. This continuing initiative comprises the largest and most comprehensive biological surveys to take place in Iraq in well over 25 years. Under the KBA Project in Iraq, Nature Iraq in cooperation with the Iraqi Ministry of Environment, has visited over one hundred sites in southern Iraq and in Kurdistan in northern Iraq to survey plants, fish, reptile, bird and mammal species. In addition, water quality physical parameters, sediment, plankton and benthic invertebrates were examined at these sites to determine the overall health of key habitat areas. Birds have been a primary focus of the surveys. This has involved the collection of data on these potential sites of key biological diversity including the identification of species, population counts and information on how species are using a site (e.g. breeding, feeding, migration, etc.). This paper provides an overview of this continuing project that will, over time, permit the refinement of data and the survey of more of Iraq as security improves within the country. The paper also summarizes current recommendations for the management of some of the KBA sites in Iraq. Keywords Key Biodiversity Areas, biodiversity surveys, Kurdistan, southern Iraq Copyright C. Rubec, A. Alwash, A. Bachmann. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. 40 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) Introduction The marshes of southern Iraq have faced significant environmental change in the last 20 years, as documented by the United Nations Environment Program, UNEP (Partow 2001). This was driven by government-directed drainage of the marshes that caused extreme changes in water quality, biota and, most importantly, the lives of several hun- dred thousand local people. The severe impact on people has been documented by the AMAR International Charitable Foundation (Nicholson and Clark 2002). The marsh- es were also affected over this time by the reduction in water flow into the Euphrates and ‘Tigris rivers through construction of hydroelectric and reservoir facilities through- out the countries of the Tigris-Euphrates Basin (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Syria and Turkey). It is estimated that, within only a few years, up to 90% of the original wetland area of the southern marshes of Iraq was turned into semi-desert. The systematic drainage of these marshes impacted all aspects of the biological system - noticeably the bird, fish, plant and other wildlife species of the area. Since 2003, however, up to 58% of these marshes had been re-flooded (as of August 2007), helping to restore the ecological and human socio-cultural web of the region. It is not known if this re-flooding can be considered sustainable due to the uncer- tainty of water availability year-to-year in Iraq. For several years, water levels had been favorable, in part due to high seasonal snowfalls in neighboring nations and in north- ern Iraq, the source areas of much of the water available to the marshes (Alwash Iraq Foundation, personal communication, 2005; Partow, UNEP, personal communication 2005). However, in 2008 water levels in the Marshland areas declined due to drought conditions. During the 1980 to 2003 period, assessment of the impacts on wildlife populations was not feasible. Surveys to capture biodiversity data have now resumed as an impor- tant component of the programs of Nature Iraq in association with Italian, Canadian and other funding agencies. This work was directly implemented in concert with the Iraqi government, non-government organizations (both inside Iraq and internation- ally) and university partners. This support has increasingly enabled capacity building and training projects (such as reported by Evans 2004, and Porter and Scott 2005) over the 2004 to 2008 period for Iraqi scientists and managers who seek to restore the eco- logical character of the southern marshes of Iraq. Work was also initiated in Kurdistan in northern Iraq in the winter of 2007. The Nature Iraq KBA project has assisted in the generation of better understanding of biodiversity and management needs, and the implementation of wildlife surveys, monitoring programs and marshland restoration and management initiatives in Iraq. This paper summarizes a more detailed report submitted to the Government of Iraq (Rubec and Bachmann 2008). It is hoped that this paper and its associated report will collectively assist in the conservation of the marshes by increasing cooperation between government, non-government and university stakeholders in Iraq. The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 4] The Key Biodiversity Areas Program The development of reliable information on the status of the Key Biodiversity Areas of Iraq is designed to support long-term restoration and management planning for important habitats such as the southern marshes of the country. The definition of “Key Biodiversity Areas” closely follows that developed and implemented by BirdLife Inter- national (BLI) with national partner agencies, including Nature Iraq, in several coun- tries. This definition recognizes that biological richness and importance are “more than birds”, thus extending the highly successful BLI international program for Important Bird Areas (IBAs). The KBA program in Iraq, as discussed below, builds on the IBAs Program led in many countries by BirdLife partner organizations. The Mesopotamian Marshes for example support at least 34 species of conservation concern including eight globally threatened bird species (Salim et al. 2009, this volume) including en- demics such as the Irag Babbler and the Basra Reed Warbler (Stattersfield et al. 1998). Objectives The objectives of the KBA field program are: — To undertake annual winter surveys (between the months of December and Febru- ary 2005 to 2008) and annual summer surveys (between the months of May and July 2005 to 2008) of as many of the KBA sites as possible; — To record information on the status of habitats and threats to these sites; — To provide advice to the Ministry of Environment and other Iraqi stakeholders on the future management relevant to restoration of healthy ecosystems and commu- nities of each KBA site; and — To publish relevant scientific and technical papers and reports on this work. KBA Sites Early on in this Project, decisions had to be made as to which sites would be the focus of the field studies. It was agreed to build upon known, published information on sites of biodiversity interest in Iraq. The chosen locations for KBA field studies were initially based on the Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Iraq as published by Evans (1994) and supplemented by a listing of potential Wetlands of International Importance (meeting thus the site criteria of the Ramsar Convention) in Iraq by Scott (1995). Building upon the same basic principals as IBAs but not restricted just to bird species, KBAs are seen as the building blocks of landscape-level conservation planning, according to the World Conservation Union (IUCN 2007).The Iraqi KBAs are thus considered to be sites of global significance for biodiversity conservation as they readily meet the IUCN criteria based on a framework of vulnerability and irreplaceability IUCN 2007). 42 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) Under vulnerability criteria, any sites where critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable species occur can be listed as a KBA site. Irreplaceability criteria are concerned with those sites that hold restricted-range species, species with large but clumped distributions, globally significant congregations, globally significant source populations and bioregionally-restricted assemblages. Within the southern marshes of Irag, Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) sites that were chosen are those previously known to be particularly important for breeding and win- tering birds and that had been the subject of re-flooding since 2003. A total of 43 pos- sible KBAs were thus selected in Iraq. Of these KBA sites, 26 are located in southern Iraq (see Fig. 1 and Table 1 below). Sites numbered 17 to 42 were the initial focus of the southern field program. These sites occur mainly in the south and are concentrated in Missan, Thi Qar and Basrah Governorates. Four sites were located in Kurdistan in northern Iraq (one of these represents three distinct areas) in the governorates of Su- laimani, Erbil and Dohuk and were first surveyed in the winter of 2007. Due to the extensive time that had passed since these sites had been initially vis- ited and/or evaluated as IBA sites, it is now accurate to call them potential KBA sites. Most of the sites had not been surveyed since at least 1979 or earlier. Upon evaluation of these sites, it was felt that some might no longer meet IBA and KBA criteria due to extensive ecological damage or change. It was also recognized from the outset that security conditions, military restrictions, and other factors could significantly affect the planning and access to sites in this project. Thus, it was not expected that all potential KBA sites might be fully surveyed, as would be ideal. Indeed, due to these types of limitations, no work was done at several of the listed sites (particularly No. 017, 018, 019, 020, 021, 022, and 027). KBA sites numbered 001 to 016 lie in the northern and western areas of Iraq and were deemed beyond the scope of the initial work. However, several of these sites (Sites 001, 002, 003, 004a, b, c as well as Mosul Lake) are now in- cluded in the field program in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. Additional sites were added based on local knowledge and stakeholder input and are to be considered potential KBA sites until a final assessment is complete. Marine sites at the mouth of the Shatt al-Arab are also known to have high biodiversity value particularly for avian species. However, the extreme sensitivity of this military zone has precluded most sci- entific work in the immediate area beyond several Shatt al-Arab sites (No. 40-42) visited sporadically to date by Nature Iraq (see Fig. 1, Table 1). Field study locations An initial February to March 2005 survey was restricted to seven KBA sites in southern Iraq. It was limited by practical and security issues in that period and seen as a start- up, experience-building exercise. However, useful data were collected nonetheless. The winter of 2005 survey included portions of KBAs No. 030, 032, 033, 034, 036, 038 and 039 (see Table 1). All other southern KBA sites were included in the subsequent surveys, except where security concerns interfered. The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 43 Figure |. Map of the IBAs of Iraq, From Evans (1994). In order to facilitate field survey logistics, seven major wetland areas in the south were defined (Figs 2 and 3 show two examples of these areas): Hammar Marshes (HA), Central Marshes (CM), Hawizeh Marshes (HZ), Middle Euphrates Marsh- es (ME), Seasonal Marshes (SM), Shatt Al Arab Marshes (SA), Khor Az Zobayr Marshes (KZ). In Kurdistan, northern Iraq, sites were organized by Governorate (Figs 4 and 5 show two examples of these areas): Sulaimani (S), Erbil (E), Dohuk (D). These areas are all identified on the map in Fig. 6. Biodiversity observations The KBA team recorded field observations during winter and summer in 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 that focused on birds, fish, zooplankton, macrophytes, phytoplank- ton, sediments and water quality. Anecdotal mammal, reptile and amphibian observa- tions were also included. In 2008, the southern survey was reduced to bird, habitat and vegetation surveys. Papers and reports on these surveys are currently in prepara- tion or in press. 44 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) Table |. Key Biodiversity Areas Iraq visited by KBA the Team (after Evans 1994 and Scott 1995). Site Name and Code* Area (ha) Habitat Governorate Longitude Type Kurdistan Sites ; ' 37°20°N, Rocky wooded IBA 001. Beanavi (Benavi) 600 42°39°E valley Dohuk 37°13’N Valley with springs IBA 002. Dori Serguza 400 43°29°E eral Dohuk P : 37°10°N, : IBA 003. Ser Amadiya (Ser Amadia) 6,500 43°00 E Cliffs and valleys Dohuk Scott: Aski Mosul Reservoir (Great cone Saddam Lake) (not listed as IBA in | Lake is 30 km long aS ° 2 N Reservoir lncNordaticar 42°45'E Mosul Evans, 1994) IBA 004. (a) Bakhma, (b) Dukan 40.000 36°10’N, and (c) Darbandikhan Dams; ; 44°55 E 25,000 ha lake ae Scott: Dukan Reservoir which is 30 km 7 mn a Reservoirs, flood Dohuk, ‘ 44°5SE ; Erbil, and long by 15 km wide plain and valleys Sulaymaniyah 7,500 ha lake which 35°10°N Scott: Darbandikhan Reservoir is 30 km long by 10 ay : 45°50°E km wide Sites in Southern Iraq IBA 023. Hor Delmaj; 32°20°N Scott # 14. Hor Delmaj (Dalmaj 100,000 a en Freshwater lake Wasit 45°30°E Marsh) IBA 024. Hor Sarut; 50 of 19 By 46°40’E as, Reedbed and lake Missan Scott #21, Hot Sanit Gaarood) Not listed PER cott . Hor Sarut (Saaroot ot liste 4GAGE 32°10°N, IBA 025. Hor Al Sa’adiyah; oe td Scott # 20. Hor Al Sa’adiyah 140,000 Sine Freshwater lake Wasit Sadia) 46°22’E to 40°44 E IBA 026. Hor Ibn Najim; anh Scott # 12. Hor Ibn Najim (Ibn 10,000 Se USN. | Seasonal Resiwates Babil i 44°35°E lake Najm Marsh) IBA 028. Hor Al-Haushiya - Al 300 f_-, Kumait Ponds, Ali Sharqi Ponds; ee Artificial ponds Missan Scott # 22. Hor Al Haushiya Not listed IBA 029. Shatt Al Gharraf; 125 att arra + 31°57'N, Ponds and seasonal Wasit and ‘Thi Scott # 18. Shatt Al Gharraf a 46°00°E wetlands along a Gut (Gharraaf River) ae waterway IBA 030. Hor Chibayish Area; = ea Scott # 23. Hor Chubaisah Freshwater lakes ; 27,500 Missan Complex ue and marshes (Sinnaaf Area) SON; 47T-18°E IBA 031. Hor Sanniya; 31°55/N; Scott # 24. Hor Sanniya (Saniya) 40,000 46°48°E Freshwater lalces Miss The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 45 Site Name and Code* Area (ha) Mabitat Governorate Longitude Type IBA 032. Hor Om Am Nyai -Suweid, Sudan Marshes; 31°45°N Wetlands and open ; Scott # 29. Suweid Marshes (Umm repgOS Alo? Sob water psan An Ni’aaj) IBA 033. Hor Al Rayan and Umm 31°40°N, Sed h Osbah - Maymund and Salam 47°0VE ore 25,000 lagoons and Missan Marshes; Scott # 25. Hor Al Rayan 31°53’N > reedbeds and Hor Umm Osbah (Rayan) 47°02’E IBA 034. Hor Auda; 7.500 31°33'N, Freshwater marshes Mi Scott # 26. Hor Auda (Auda Marsh) Q 460°5 VE and lakes er IBA 035. Hor Uwainah - Shatra Marshes; Jes . Scott # 19. Hor Uwainah - Shatra 32,500 es Lakes and marshes Thi Qat or Chamuga Marshes (U’wainah Marsh near Shatra) 31°22’N, IBA 036. Hor Al Hawizeh - Hor Al 47°38°E Azim in Iran portion 31°00’N to : Semtewb ae Elon Al Eowrueh 220,000 31°45'N: Freshwater marshes | Missan, Basrah (Hawizeh Marshes) 47°25E to 47°50’E IBA 037. Hor Lafta Zyhdo 31°2’N, sae one td Scott # 13. Hor Lafta (Lafta Marsh) 45°30’E i Sree bial and dunes IBA 038. Central Marshes - Amara 31°10°N, Marshes 47°05 E 30°50’N to Open water and | Missan, Thi Qar, 300,000 5 Die net MAR 31°30’N’; | freshwater marshes Basrah cott . Centr arshes 46°45°E. to 46°25°E 30°44°N, IBA 039. Hor Al Hammar salen Scott # 28. Hor Al Hammar 350,000 a Marshes and lakes | Thi Qar, Basrah (Hammar Marshes) 46°28°E to 47 45°E 30°27 'N, IBA 040. Shatt Al Arab Marshes 47°59°E 165 leat Rieder iia Riverine floodplain Tae ° ch wetlands and reed Basrah Scott # 31. Shatt Al Arab Marshes 47°25°E its marshes 29°55'N, 48°30°E DL Sr Maree: 31°12’N, Tidal inlet and Scott # 32. Khor Zubair 20,000 4T°SAE oo aeeids panel Basrah (Khor Al Zubayr) ie EE IBA 042. Khor Abdallah Phan Bee ce Scott # 33. Khor Abdalah and the 126,000 , ; hae Basrah Fao Area 48°32’E intertidal mudflats (36,000 ha) *IBA numbers refer to Evans (1994) numbering system, Scott number refers to Scott (1995) numbering system. Name in parentheses, where present, represent the Nature Iraq name for the site. 46 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) ‘ ee = ———— Figure 2. Central Marshes (CM), December 2007 (photo M. Shebel). Definition of management issues In November 2004, a workshop was organized with Iraqi specialists in environmental management as part of a training course for prospective KBA team members (Evans 2004). A priority setting exercise on the status and management options for KBAs in Iraq was conducted. Participants expressed their views with regard to the marshes of Iraq. The various views highlighted the richness of natural and cultural resources in the area. In 2004, they felt that law enforcement was a key element for the conservation successes as this had previously proved effective in Iraq. However, due to the politically unstable conditions that much of Iraq is now witnessing, these enforcement efforts have virtually collapsed. Participants suggested a series of management options for KBA sites, including: — Establish a support group or council at each KBA for enhancing conservation and sustainability; — Enhance the roles and involvement of local communities in decision-making; — Involve various governmental institutions; — Promote job creation; — Promote landscape restoration; — Undertake awareness building; The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 47 ; — _——— = =e i ——= — —— Figure 3. Hammar Marshes (HA), December 2007 (photo M. Shebel). — Ensure improved project coordination; — Build political and cultural support. There was strong agreement between participants that the marshes faced a wide array of threats, including: — Fires; — Date palm plantation removal; — Dumping and waste accumulation; — Construction of dams and impoundments; — Unsustainable agricultural, hunting and fishing practices; — Water pollution; — Wildlife disturbance during breeding seasons; — Habitat loss and fragmentation; — Road construction and industrial development; — Lack of legal land titles. It was indicated that there should be a mechanism for conflict resolution with local communities. This could be based on the number of affected families and type of lost 48 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) Figure 4. Peramagroon Mountain, January 2008, Sulaimani — S (photo K. Ararat). opportunities for that local community. Also, it was pointed out that there was a need to have a National Wetland Strategy and national accession to the Ramsar Conven- tion on Wetlands (which took place in Iraq in 2007). Integration within other global conventions such as the Convention on Biological Diversity could also provide a strong advocacy tool. Discussions shed light on identification of the marshes as a special devel- opment area. Participants also agreed that attention should be made to transboundary management issues for the Hawizeh Marsh (e.g. for the marshes area shared with Iran) to address threats to the ecological character of this area. Hawizeh Marsh is now Iraq’s first Ramsar site and a draft management plan has been completed for the area (Rubec 2008). Discussion of management recommendations for southern KBA sites Conservation actions that are recommended for each of the priority categories, using a weighted point assignment process developed at the 2004 workshop (Evans 2004) are presented below in Table 2. In addition, a summary of the KBA sites felt to be “critical”, “urgent” or “high” in terms of conservation priority and notes on the current habitat conditions at surveyed sites are presented in Table 3. The sites are thus ranked as: Critical priority sites that require intensive and immediate action (over 39 points); The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 49 oe Figure 5. Gara Mountain, March 2007, Dohuk — D (photo by K. Ararat). Urgent priority sites that require ongoing action at a less intensive level (30-39 points); or High priority sites that require lower-level actions (20-29 points). Conclusions Comprehensive ecological survey work is still not possible in all areas of Iraq due to security concerns over much of the country. Hence, many sites cannot be visited or visited systematically. Often those sites that are visited cannot be completely assessed due to restrictions on available time or other logistical concerns related to security problems. Despite these factors, the Nature Iraq KBA work has been an important step in assessing Iraq's biological diversity. Over time, this will benefit the conservation and management of this national resource. Nature Iraq has collected valuable data on important ecosystems now in the process of undergoing extensive ecological recovery after decades of degradation and destruction. The data collected over the past four years and from up-coming surveys will provide critical information as Iraq engages the international community in agreements such as the Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Convention), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species 50 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) Middle Euphrates Marches Seasonal Marches Hawizeh Marches Shatt Al Arab Marches a ) Khor Al Zubayr Marches Cental Marches Hammar Marches Figure 6. The seven major wetland survey areas of southern Iraq and the locations of survey sites in Kurdistan, northern Iraq. Table 2. Recommended conservation actions for all sites. Critical Sit Critical and Urgent Critical, Urgent and a des Sites High Priority Sites Identify actual and potential stakeholders | Develop and maintain Site | Monitoring for KBA conservation Support Groups Provide alternatives for local communities | Socio-economic surveys Awareness raising for living in and around KBAs, through decision-makers promotion of Site Support Groups Conservation projects Education and awareness _| Enforce conservation raising policies Local and national advocacy | Promote ecotourism for IBA conservation Integrated resources and ecosystem management Develop and implement management or Advocacy for protection action plans status Land purchase or rental a #£ég Detailed surveys Habitat restoration and rehabilitation Lobby for appropriate legislation on site conservation The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 | Table 3. Summary of 2004 conservation rankings for KBAs in Iraq based on threats and biological im- portance for birds, and 2008 current habitat status. 2004 TotabPcintss# /2008 Current Habitat Status IBA Site No. and Name* Ranking For | Categori- - . (2008) Conservation | zation Action KBA sites assessed in 2004 conservation ranking exercise 022. Hor al-Abjiya and Hor Um al-Baram | 25 High Unknown 024. Saaroot 2il High Seasonally flooded in 2005, 2006, 2007 025. Saidya 26 High Dry, now used for agriculture 027. Hor al-Hachcham 26 High Unknown and Hor Maraiba 028. Hor al-Haushiya 23 High Dry with saline soils and halophytic vegetation. Poor security. 030. Sinnaaf 25 High A dry site with occasional winter flooding 031. Saniya 28 High Dry with high security risks 032. Umm An Niaaj 31 Urgent Brackish water marsh (fresh waters in some areas in winter) with good plant, fish and bird diversity 033. Rayan 33 Urgent Flooded in 1st survey, dry in 2nd survey 034. Auda Marsh 34 Urgent Flooded but affected by eutrophication because of lack of water flow-through 035. Al Shatrah - West of Al Riwaiya 33 Urgent Dry site with high security (Hor Uwainah) risks 036. Hawizeh Marshes 41 Critical Flooded 038. Central Marshes oD) Critical | Shallow waters with very poor quality 039. Hammar Marshes 46 Critical West portion flooded; centre portion is now a small lake; east portion is flooded tidally KBA Sites Not Assessed in 2004 Conservation Ranking Exercise 001. Benavi -- Forested mountain site 002. Dori Serguza -- Forested mountain site in Dohuk governorate — not assessed & has incorrect gps location. 003. Ser Amadia -- Forested mountain site 004. Bakhma, Dukan and Darbandikhan s Bakhma-Big Zap River with incomplete dam structures; Dukan and Darbandikhan — Large reservoirs Mosul Lake -- Large reservoir 52 Clayton Rubec, Azzam Alwash & Anna Bachmann / BioRisk 3: 39-53 (2009) 2004 ag ihe Current Habitat Status IBA Site No. and Name* Ranking For | Categori- Conservation | zation 2008) Action 023. Dalmaj Marsh -- -- Flooded/Current Status Unknown 026. Ibn Najm -- -- Flooded 029. Gharraf River -- -- Flooded 037. Lafta Marsh -- -- Dry/Current status unknown 040. Shatt al-Arab Marshes -- -- Flooded 041. Khor al-Zubayr -- -- Marine 042. Khor Abdallah -- -- Marine/Current status unknown *Using Evans (1994) site codes and Nature Iraq site names (where assigned). (CITES), the Convention on Migratory Species (Bonn Convention) and others. Na- ture Iraq will continue to maintain and update information on these and other sites within the country and will make data available to the Iraqi government, stakeholders and other interested organizations and agencies concerned with biodiversity in Iraq. The biological diversity of the country is not contained within Iraq alone but is shared with the region and the globe. As a result, Nature Iraq will be incorporating many of its key observations into internationally shared sources such as the Worldbird Middle East Database, an Internet-based spatial database about birds provided by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (United Kingdom) and BirdLife Interna- tional. Through these and other methods, Nature Iraq hopes to share information, resources and expertise with regional and international organizations that can assist as partners with Iraqi conservation efforts. Acknowledgements The contents of this paper are derived from work led by Nature Iraq from 2004 to 2008. The KBA Project would not have been possible without the key partnership arrangements and personal commitments of staff and colleagues at Nature Iraq, H. E. Narmin Othman (Iraq Minister of Environment), H. E. Dara M. Amin Saeed (Min- ister of Environment, Kurdistan Regional Government) and at BirdLife International in the United Kingdom (Richard Porter), in Jordan (Sharif Jbour) and their national partner organizations in Syria (the Syrian Society for the Conservation of Wildlife), and Jordan (the Royal Society for Conservation of Nature) and also Mauro Randone (Medingegneria, for the Italian Ministry of Environment, Land and Sea). The authors thank the project participants and members of the field teams drawn from various partner institutions in Iraq including the Iraq Ministry of Environment, University of Basrah, University of Thi Qar, University of Babylon, University of Baghdad and The Key Biodiversity Areas Project in Iraq: Objectives and scope 2004-2008 Be, others. 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