CAMBRIDGE, UK, October 1, 2025—A groundbreaking new study reveals that nearly half of the world’s most critical sites for biodiversity conservation remain unidentified, posing a significant risk to global efforts aimed at halting species extinctions and protecting ecosystems essential for life on Earth.

The research, published in Conservation Biology, shows that countries that make comprehensive assessments of their Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)1 have seen an average increase of 164 percent in the total area of KBAs, and a 70% increase in the number of sites identified. Astonishingly, 54 percent of all sites in a country occurred largely outside any previously recognised KBAs.

KBAs are critical sites for biodiversity conservation. They are globally significant sites where the most important populations of species are found, where globally significant areas of ecosystems exist, and where outstanding sites of ecological integrity or irreplaceability occur. Identifying these areas is crucial to meeting the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to reverse biodiversity loss and stop human-driven extinctions by 20302.

The study examined changes in the KBA network across eleven countries in South America, Africa, and the Middle East, comparing the data before and after comprehensive assessments of their KBAs conducted between 2019 and 2024.

All these countries had recognised some KBAs before 2019, mostly for birds through BirdLife International’s Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) programme. However, none of them had made comprehensive assessments or applied the KBA criteria to all the species and ecosystems for which they had data. The findings showed on average there was a doubling of KBA sites that were largely outside the original network, and more than a doubling of total KBA area—revealing a far more extensive and varied network of vital sites.

“We cannot protect what we don’t know is there. We have a tool in the KBA criteria that can help us identify globally significant sites but this needs to be applied across all countries,” said Andrew Plumptre, Head of the KBA Secretariat. “We must act now to ensure all critical places for nature are identified and effectively conserved.”

Added Fiona Maisels, a senior conservationist with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) who supported KBA assessments in a number of countries included in the study, “Combining existing information in the IUCN Red List and the Plants of the World Online with recent field data collected in eleven countries across the globe (including some of the world's most biodiverse) has resulted in a huge increase in our understanding of the distribution and nature of some of the planet's most irreplaceable sites for biodiversity." 

“There is an urgent need for all countries to assess their KBAs to better inform their planning for 30 x 30 expansion of protection to achieve Target 3 of the Global Biodiversity Framework,” said Zoltan Waliczky of BirdLife International, who led a project to make comprehensive assessments of KBAs in seven of the countries, with support from the Bezos Earth Fund. “If we do not do this in the next few years, we may miss the opportunity to have the greatest impact for conservation and achieve the goal to halt extinctions.”

Published just before delegates from around the world gather for the IUCN World Conservation Congress, to be held in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, this paper calls on all countries to update their KBA networks by 2030. Several sessions at the congress will highlight why KBAs matter most and showcase the countries that have made comprehensive assessments and how they are using the results to better plan their conservation of 30 percent by 2030.

The findings underscore a clear message for governments, funders, and conservationists: To achieve the Global Biodiversity Framework’s target of halting extinctions and protecting ecosystems, we must first know exactly where these irreplaceable biodiversity sites are found.

Notes to editors

[1] About KBAs: Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs) are globally significant places in the world for species and their habitats. The Key Biodiversity Area Partnership - an ambitious partnership of 13 global conservation organizations - is helping prevent the rapid loss of biodiversity by supporting nationally led efforts to identify these places on the planet that are critical for the survival of unique species of plants and animals, and the ecological communities they comprise.

[2] Specifically, Target 3 of the KMGBF: Ensure and enable that by 2030 at least 30 per cent of terrestrial and inland water areas, and of marine and coastal areas, especially areas of particular importance for biodiversity and ecosystem functions and services, are effectively conserved and managed.

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