Sites
Important Bird Areas are sites that are critical for the conservation of bird populations, and other animals and plants. IBAs have been identified all over the world.
In Kenya, 60 sites have qualified as IBAs under internationally agreed scientific criteria, in four categories:
1. Sites that hold numbers of globally threatened birds, such as the Sokoke Scops Owl in Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
2. Sites that hold birds with very restricted ranges, such as Hinde’s Babbler, found only in bushy river valleys in central and eastern Kenya and nowhere else
3. Sites that hold large congregations of particular birds, like the pelicans, storks, egrets and plovers that gather in the Tana River Delta
4. Sites that hold a large number of species dependent on a particular ecosystem, for instance moist highland grasslands
In Kenya, Important Bird Areas also incorporate 83% of the centres of plant endemism and 90% of restricted-range butterflies, indicating the critical need to conserve birds and IBAs for the benefit of other animals and plants.
List of Important Bird Areas Protected Areas (PA)
Largely or wholly outside protected areas (OPA)
Central Kenya
1 Aberdare Mountains
Montane forest, bamboo, montane grassland and moorland PA
2 Kianyaga Valleys
Steep river valleys, now mainly cultivated OPA
3 Kikuyu Escarpment Forests
Montane Forest PA
4 Kinangop Grasslands
Montane Grassland, farmland OPA
5 Mt Kenya
Montane forest, bamboo, montane grassland and moorland PA
6 Mukurweini Valleys
Steep river valleys, now mainly cultivated OPA
Coast
For detailed information on individual sites - Click here
7 Arabuko-Sokoke Forest
Coastal evergreen forest and woodland PA
8 Dakatcha Woodland
Coastal woodland OPA
9 Diani Forest
Coastal woodland OPA
10 Dzombo Hill Forest
Coastal mixed forest PA
11 Gede Ruins National Monument
Coastal semi-deciduous forest PA
12 Kaya Gandini
Coastal deciduous Cynometra- Terminalia forest PA
13 KayaWaa
Low coastal Cynometra-Drypetes forest on coral rag PA
14 Kisite Island
Barren coral rock, low scrub PA
15 Kiunga Marine National Reserve
Mangroves, coral islets and platforms, sandy beaches PA
16 Mida Creek, Whale Island & Malindi/Watamu Coast
Intertidal rock, sand and mud, coral reefs, beds of sea-grass, coral platforms and islets, sandy beaches, mangrove forests PA
17 Marenji Forest
Coastal mixed forest PA
18 Mrima Hill Forest
Coastal mixed forest PA
19 Sabaki River Mouth
Estuarine sandbanks, mudbanks, dunes, freshwater pools OPA
20 Shimba Hills
Coastal forest, grassland and scrub PA
21 Taita Hills Forest
Moist montane forest PA
22 Tana River Delta
Fresh and brackish lakes and streams, freshwater and saline grassland and wetlands, beaches and mudflats, successional stages of forest and woodland and dune ridges OPA
23 Tana River Forests
Riparian evergreen forest, grassland, wooded grassland, bushland and deciduous woodland PA
24 Tsavo East National Park
Bushland, bushed grassland, Acacia- Commiphora woodland, riverine scrub PA
25 Tsavo West National Park
Acacia-Commiphora bushland, open grassy plains, riverine scrub PA
Eastern
26 Chyulu Hills Forest
Montane forest, rough grassland and thicket PA
27 Dida Galgalu Desert
Open black-lava desert OPA
28 Lake Turkana
Chloro-carbonate alkaline lake surrounded by open sandy and rocky habitats OPA & PA
29 Machakos Valleys
Riverine bush and thicket, Acacia xanthophloea woodland OPA
30 Masinga Reservoir
Freshwater reservoir surrounded by open Acacia-Commiphora bushland OPA
31 Meru National Park
Wooded grassland, Acacia- Commiphora woodland PA
32 Mwea National Reserve
Bushland and woodland with open glades PA
33 Samburu/Buffalo Springs National Reserves
Open bush and grassland. Acacia tortilis woodland, riverine woodland, rocky cliffs and scarps PA
34 Shaba National Reserve
Riverine woodland and thicket, woodland, Commiphora bushland, open lava desert, alkaline grasslands and swamps PA
Nairobi
35 Dandora Ponds
Oxygenation ponds OPA
36 Nairobi National Park
Grassland, riverine woodland, bush and thicket, man-made dams and ponds, upland dry forest PA
Nyanza
37 Dunga Swamp
Papyrus swamp OPA
38 Koguta Swamp
Papyrus swamp OPA
39 Kusa Swamp
Papyrus swamp OPA
40 Ruma National Park
Grassland, open woodland and thickets PA
41 Yala Swamp
Papyrus swamp and associated habitats OPA
Rift Valley
For detailed information on individual Rift Valley sites - Click here
42 Amboseli National Park
Acacia woodland, open grassland, bushland and swamps PA
43 Cherangani Hills
Montane forest, bamboo, scrub, grassland and moorland PA
44 Lake Baringo
Rocky cliffs. Acacia woodland and bushland, surrounding shallow freshwater lake with swampy margins OPA
45 Lake Bogoria National Reserve
Alkaline lake, with fringing woodland and bushland PA
46 Lake Elementeita
Alkaline lake, fringing Acacia woodland, Tarchonanthus bushland and grassland OPA
47 Lake Magadi
Alkaline trona-covered lake, with fringing open bushland OPA
48 Lake Naivasha
Freshwater lake and fringing papyrus swamp and Acacia xanthophloea woodland OPA
49 Lake Nakuru National Park
Alkaline lake with fringing Acacia xanthophloea woodland and grassland PA
50 Masai Mara
Open rolling grassland, riverine forest, Acacia woodland, swamps, thickets. Acacia, Croton, and Tarchonanthus scrub, rocky escarpments PA
51 Mau Forest Complex
Montane forest, bamboo thickets and grassland PA/OPA
52 Mau Narok/ Molo Grasslands
Montane grassland, farmland OPA
53 North Nandi Forest
Mid-altitude tropical forest, transitional to montane forest PA
54 Ol Donyo Sabache
Basalt cliffs, dry Juniperus-Podocarpus forest OPA
55 South Nandi Forest
Mid-altitude tropical forest, transitional to montane forest PA
56 South Nguruman
Open Acacia tortilis woodland, dense Acacia-Commiphora bush, Tarchonanthus thicket, grassland and sub-montane forest OPA
Western
57 Busia Grasslands
Seasonally flooded grassland and riverine scrub, surrounded by intensive agriculture OPA
58 Kakamega Forest
Mid-altitude tropical rain forest, grassy and bushed glades PA
59 Mt Elgon
Montane forest, bamboo, moorland and wooded grassland PA
60 Sio Port Swamp
Papyrus swamp OPA
