Canada's Important Bird Areas Program - Bird Conservation in Canada

Canadian co-partner of

A member of

75 Albert St, Suite 300
Ottawa, Ontario
K1P 5E7, Canada
Phone: 1-800-267-4088
or 613-562-3447
Fax: 613-562-3371

To protect and conserve wildlife and habitats in Canada by engaging people and advocating on behalf of nature.

Canada's Important Bird Areas Program

Nature Canada is a partner, with Bird Studies Canada, in delivering the Important Bird Areas Program in Canada. Our vision: to identify, conserve and monitor a network of sites that provides essential habitat for bird populations.

Red Knots

By cooperating with local communities, scientists, governments, First Nations, corporations, land owners and nature groups, we are building healthier bird communities and more sustainable environments for future generations.
See our Canadian IBA Agenda

BirdLife International began the IBA program in Europe in the 1980s. Since that time, BirdLife partners in more than 178 countries and territories have joined together to build the global IBA network.

Canada’s IBA Program plays a critical role in national bird conservation efforts. Major support for the program comes from TransCanada Corporation, Wildlife Habitat Canada, and the Government of Canada.

What We’ve Achieved

Since 1996 we’ve identified nearly 600 IBAs across Canada’s diverse landscapes. Acting with regional conservation partners, we’ve built an exhaustive IBA database, finalized almost 100 site conservation plans, helped communities implement more than 150 local projects, and initiated a volunteer network of IBA Caretakers. Working in harmony with bird conservation efforts from local to international levels, Canada’s IBA Program has become a cornerstone in science-based, site-specific conservation for birds and biodiversity.

What We Stand to Lose

Piping Plovers on Sauble Beach. Photo: Brendan Toews

Important Bird Areas contain threatened species, endemic species, species representative of a biome, or highly exceptional concentrations of birds. As a network, IBAs are strategic building blocks for global conservation planning. For birds, they are literally the most important places on earth.

We’ve built Canada’s IBA network based on knowledge, activism, cooperation and a deep respect for bird life. However, an IBA designation does not confer legal status and does not necessarily lead to protection of a site. More work is required to conserve the IBA network. The wealth of Canada’s natural heritage is at risk— from endangered species to entire ecosystems in upheaval.

Globally, one in eight bird species is threatened with extinction and even common species are in decline. Birds in Canada’s IBAs are threatened by habitat loss, predation, pollution, invasive
species, even unwitting disturbance by humans, our pets and livestock—threats that can be devastating.

Where We Go from Here

Canada is one of more than 100 nations building the global IBA network which, when complete, will encompass approximately seven percent of the world’s land surface and additional areas at sea. This is a rare opportunity for harmonized international environmental protection. In conserving IBAs, we can safeguard the world’s most significant sites for birds—conserving not only important bird populations but bird habitats and other biodiversity. We will achieve this by pursuing our six-point plan, The Canadian IBA Agenda.

Nature Canada, works with local groups and BirdLife partners throughout the Americas to advance sustainable livelihoods and conserve important bird habitat beyond Canada's borders. Watch this video to see what we're working for.


Nature Canada and Bird Studies Canada are Canadian co-partners delivering BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas program in Canada. We aim to identify, monitor and protect a global network of IBAs for the conservation of the world’s birds and other biodiversity.