3.2.9 (HL)—Key Biodiversity Areas (KBAs)

A Key Biodiversity Area (KBA) is a site that contributes significantly to the global persistence of biodiversity because it supports threatened or geographically restricted biodiversity, ecological integrity, important biological processes or irreplaceable features.

Named area	Why it matters globally	Main pressure or boundary
Amazon rainforest	Supports exceptionally high species diversity and many endemic species; its forests also store carbon and regulate water cycling	Deforestation and agricultural expansion threaten habitat and the species restricted to it
Coral Triangle	Supports exceptionally high coral and fish diversity and provides habitat for many marine organisms	Climate change and coral-reef loss threaten marine biodiversity and the livelihoods that depend on it

A strong justification names the biodiversity feature, explains why losing it has global rather than only local consequences, and identifies the pressure that conservation must address.

The Amazon case emphasizes endemic terrestrial diversity and climate–water regulation; the Coral Triangle emphasizes irreplaceable marine diversity and reef-dependent livelihoods.

High species count alone is not enough: connect the named site to threatened, restricted, ecologically important or irreplaceable biodiversity and to its global persistence.