19 new Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas identified in Spain

A scientific reassessment led by SEO/BirdLife, with the support of BirdLife International, has significantly expanded and refined Spain’s network of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs), building the most complete picture yet of the country’s most critical sites for bird conservation.

Based on updated 2020 IBA criteria and the latest ornithological data, this revision has confirmed 19 new IBAs and fully evaluated 378 existing sites, bringing Spain’s total IBA network to 485 sites. It is the most comprehensive update to the national inventory since 2011.

A major milestone for bird conservation

The updated network now covers over 25 million hectares, an increase of nearly 1.5 million hectares. It expands Spain’s terrestrial IBA footprint from 47% to 47.8% of national territory, and its marine coverage from 6.8% to 8.3% of its Exclusive Economic Zone. Of the 378 evaluated sites, 58% meet global IBA criteria because they are of importance to threatened species of international conservation significance. This underlines Spain’s standing as one of the most important countries for bird conservation in Europe. The update strengthens Spain’s contribution to the EU’s 30×30 targets and the objectives of the Nature Restoration Law. 

New sites across land and sea

The 19 newly confirmed IBAs span a range of habitats and regions:

• Castilla–La Mancha: Four new steppe bird sites, including Área Esteparia de La Sagra and Valdealmendras, Querencia, La Olmeda de Jadraque y Bujalcayado, recognising the internationally important populations of bustards and other farmland species in the region.
• Mallorca: Five new terrestrial IBAs, including Son Real and Prat de Maristany, reflecting improved data on the Balearics’ distinct bird communities.
• Cantabrian–Galician coast: A major new marine migratory corridor – Corredor migratorio galaico-cantábrico occidental – capturing one of Europe’s most significant seabird flyways.
• Catalan coast: Two new marine IBAs off the coast of Barcelona and Maresme, critical for seabirds including the globally threatened Balearic Shearwater.

Species at the heart of conservation action

The revision evaluated 180 trigger species, those for which at least one Spanish site meets international IBA thresholds. Key species driving new and revised designations include:

• Balearic Shearwater (Puffinus mauretanicus): One of the world’s most threatened seabirds, endemic to the Balearic Islands and critically dependent on the new marine IBAs.
• Little Bustard (Tetrax tetrax): Suffering severe declines across its steppe habitat, with new sites in Castilla–La Mancha providing critical protection for remaining populations.
• Great Bustard (Otis tarda): Spain holds globally significant numbers; new and revised sites help secure the most important breeding areas.
• Dupont’s Lark (Chersophilus duponti): Highly sensitive to habitat fragmentation, this species depends on intact steppe – one of Europe’s most threatened ecosystems.
• Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni): Reliant on traditional agricultural mosaics that are rapidly disappearing across southern Europe.
• Marbled Teal (Marmaronetta angustirostris): Globally threatened and declining in its key Spanish wetlands.
• Spanish Imperial Eagle(Aquila adalberti):One of the world’s rarest raptors and a true conservation success story, this iconic species has been steadily expanding its range across the Iberian Peninsula following decades of targeted protection efforts.

Threats on the radar

The reassessment identified significant pressures across habitat types:

• Steppe and farmland: Intensification of agriculture, loss of fallow land, and infrastructure development continue to drive declines in Spain’s distinctive steppe bird communities.
• Coastal and marine areas: Tourism disturbance, fisheries bycatch, marine traffic, and pollution threaten both resident and migratory seabirds.
• Wetlands: Water abstraction, pollution due to intensification of agriculture, eutrophication, and altered hydrology put pressure on waterbirds and aquatic species.

Chemical pollution has emerged as a particularly serious and previously underreported threat. Surveys across 140 IBAs found contamination in sediments, water, and soils, with pesticides, pharmaceuticals, PFAS, and plastic-related chemicals detected widely. Dozens of IBAs present high-risk concentrations for aquatic ecosystems, underscoring the need for systematic pollution monitoring as part of IBA management.[1][2]

From science to action

The updated IBA network provides a science-based foundation to guide Spain’s implementation of the EU Biodiversity Strategy, the Nature Restoration Regulation, and the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30×30 target. Analysis shows that 91.2% of Spain’s SPA (Special Protection Area) network now falls within IBAs, but coverage gaps remain, with 4.7% of IBAs having no SPA protection at all. The update also highlights where restoration efforts should be concentrated and where new protected area designations are most urgently needed.

Closing the gaps

While 378 IBAs have been fully updated, 107 sites remain unchanged from the 2011 IBA inventory due to insufficient data. A preliminary analysis using citizen science datasets, including records from eBird, iNaturalist, and Observation.org, has identified 16 of these sites where recent observations suggest qualifying species may be present.

SEO/BirdLife is now calling on researchers, regional authorities, citizen scientists, and local conservation groups to contribute data to help complete the picture. Structured monitoring remains essential, but high-quality georeferenced observations, especially repeated counts and records of scarce species, can significantly improve coverage of under-surveyed sites.

What’s next

All updated sites are available on the BirdLife DataZone, with detailed factsheets and interactive maps. Furthermore, SEO/BirdLife has produced a map-based tool that allows users to locate and access the full details of all Spanish IBAs.

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This update was made possible through contributions from SEO/BirdLife’s national monitoring programmes, BirdLife International and BirdLife Europe and Central Asia, local SEO/BirdLife groups, IBA caretakers, research teams, experts and thousands of citizen science contributors across Spain.

[1] Impact of organic contaminants in soils from Important Bird and Biodiversity areas, 2024, Environmental Science and Pollution Research

^[2] Water pollution threats in important bird and biodiversity areas from Spain, 2023, Journal of Hazardous Materials

Cover Image: Shutterstock, Jesus Giraldo Gutierrez