List of Important Bird Areas in Japan

Last updated October 01, 2024

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This list of Important Bird Areas in Japan details the 7 Endemic Bird Areas (固有鳥類生息地域, Koyū chōrui seisoku chiiki) (EBAs) and 194 Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (重要野鳥生息地, Jōyō yachō seisoku-chi) (IBAs), including 69 Marine IBAs, identified by BirdLife International and its domestic partner the Wild Bird Society of Japan as of April 2022.^[1]^[2]

Endemic Bird Areas

Name	Prefecture	Altitude	Area	Restricted-range species	Coords.	Code
Izu Islands 伊豆諸島 Izu shotō	Tokyo	0–800 metres (0–2,625 ft)	300 square kilometres (120 sq mi)	Japanese wood pigeon, Japanese night heron, Ijima's leaf warbler, Izu thrush (Columba janthina, Gorsachius goisagi, Phylloscopus ijimae, Turdus celaenops)	34°44′N139°24′E / 34.733°N 139.400°E / 34.733; 139.400 (Izu Islands)	146
Ogasawara Islands 小笠原諸島 Ogasawara shotō	Tokyo	0–400 metres (0–1,312 ft)	73 square kilometres (28 sq mi)	Bonin white-eye, Bonin grosbeak, Japanese wood pigeon, Bonin wood pigeon, Bonin thrush (Apalopteron familiare, Carpodacus ferreorostris, Columba janthina, Columba versicolor, Zoothera terrestris)	26°59′N142°13′E / 26.983°N 142.217°E / 26.983; 142.217 (Ogasawara Islands)	147
Nansei Shoto 南西諸島 Nansei shotō	Kagoshima, Okinawa	0–1,900 metres (0–6,234 ft)	4,500 square kilometres (1,700 sq mi)	Japanese wood pigeon, Ryukyu wood pigeon, Okinawa woodpecker, Amami jay, Okinawa rail, Ryukyu robin, Ryukyu scops owl, Ryukyu minivet, Amami woodcock, Ryukyu kingfisher, Ryukyu green pigeon, Amami thrush (Columba janthina, Columba jouyi, Dendrocopos noguchii, Garrulus lidthi, Hypotaenidia okinawae, Larvivora komadori, Otus elegans, Pericrocotus tegimae, Scolopax mira, Todiramphus cinnamominus, Treron formosae, Zoothera major)	30°20′N130°31′E / 30.333°N 130.517°E / 30.333; 130.517 (Nansei Shoto)	148

Secondary areas

Name	Prefecture	Restricted-range species	Code
Central Honshu lowland forests 本州中部低地林 Honshū chūbu teichi-rin		Japanese night heron (Gorsachius goisagi)	s089
Central Honshu montane forests 本州中部山岳林 Honshū chūbu sangaku-rin		Yellow bunting (Emberiza sulphurata)	s090
Iwo Islands 硫黄列島 Iō rettō	Tokyo	Japanese wood pigeon (Columba janthina)	s091
Japanese and Korean offshore islands 日本・韓国の離島 Nihon・Kankoku no ritō		Japanese wood pigeon (Columba janthina)	s092

Important Bird Areas

Name	Prefecture	Municipality	Altitude	Area	Criteria	Trigger species	Coords.	Code
Rishiri island 利尻島 Rishiri-tō	Hokkaidō	Rishiri, Rishirifuji	0–1,700 metres (0–5,577 ft)	17,544 hectares (43,350 acres)	A3, A4i	Black-tailed gull, Japanese robin (Larus crassirostris, Larvivora akahige)	45°10′N141°14′E / 45.167°N 141.233°E / 45.167; 141.233 (Abukuma River)	JP001
Lake Koetoi-Onuma 声問大沼 Koetoi-ōnuma	Hokkaidō	Wakkanai	0–5 metres (0–16 ft)	830 hectares (2,100 acres)	A4i	Tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus)	45°22′N141°45′E / 45.367°N 141.750°E / 45.367; 141.750 (Lake Koetoi-Onuma)	JP002
Sarobetsu marsh サロベツ原野 Sarobetsu-genya	Hokkaidō	Horonobe, Teshio, Toyotomi, Wakkanai	0–10 metres (0–33 ft)	15,000 hectares (37,000 acres)	A4i	Bean goose (Anser fabalis)	45°06′N141°41′E / 45.100°N 141.683°E / 45.100; 141.683 (Sarobetsu marsh)	JP003
Lake Kuccharo クッチャロ湖 Kutcharo-ko	Hokkaidō	Hamatonbetsu	0–5 metres (0–16 ft)	2,803 hectares (6,930 acres)	A4i, A4iii	Tundra swan (Cygnus columbianus)	45°08′N142°18′E / 45.133°N 142.300°E / 45.133; 142.300 (Lake Kuccharo)	JP004
Esashi, Menashidomari 枝幸・目梨泊 Esashi・Menashidomari	Hokkaidō	Esashi	0–15 metres (0–49 ft)	5 hectares (12 acres)	A4i	Black-tailed gull (Larus crassirostris)	45°02′N142°31′E / 45.033°N 142.517°E / 45.033; 142.517 (Esashi, Menashidomari)	JP005
Teuri Island 天売島 Teuri-tō	Hokkaidō	Haboro	0–85 metres (0–279 ft)	546 hectares (1,350 acres)	A4i, A4ii, A4iii	Rhinoceros auklet, Black-tailed gull, Slaty-backed gull (Cerorhinca monocerata, Larus crassirostris, Larus schistisagus)	44°25′N141°19′E / 44.417°N 141.317°E / 44.417; 141.317 (Teuri Island)	JP006
Lakes Komuke and Shibunotsunai コムケ湖・シブノツナイ湖 Komuke-ko・Shibunotsunai-ko	Hokkaidō	Monbetsu, Yūbetsu	0–5 metres (0–16 ft)	1,516 hectares (3,750 acres)	A4i	Northern pintail, Red-necked stint, Eurasian wigeon, Eurasian whimbrel (Anas acuta, Calidris ruficollis, Mareca penelope, Numenius phaeopus)	44°15′N143°31′E / 44.250°N 143.517°E / 44.250; 143.517 (Lakes Komuke and Shibunotsunai)	JP007
Lakes Notoro and Abashiri 能取湖・網走湖 Notoro-ko・Abashiri-ko	Hokkaidō	Abashiri, Ōzora	0–10 metres (0–33 ft)	16,000 hectares (40,000 acres)	A1, A3, A4i	Latham's snipe, Red-crowned crane, Grey-tailed tattler (Gallinago hardwickii, Grus japonensis, Tringa brevipes)	44°03′N144°10′E / 44.050°N 144.167°E / 44.050; 144.167 (Lakes Notoro and Abashiri)	JP008
Abukuma River 阿武隈川 Abukuma-gawa	Fukushima	Date, Fukushima	0–420 metres (0–1,378 ft)	660 hectares (1,600 acres)	A4i	Northern pintail (Anas acuta)	37°46′N140°30′E / 37.767°N 140.500°E / 37.767; 140.500 (Abukuma River)	JP065

Related Research Articles

An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.

BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding important sites for birds, maintaining and restoring key bird habitats, and empowering conservationists worldwide.

The Wild Bird Society of Japan (日本野鳥の会) was founded in 1934 in Tokyo, Japan. The organisation has 47,000 members and publishes a newsletter called Strix. Other relevant publications include the Field Guide to the Birds of Japan, Birds of East Asia, and A Birdwatchers's Guide to Japan by Mark Brazil.

Wildlife Protection Areas in Japan are established by the Ministry of the Environment and, for areas of more local importance, by the Prefectural Governments in order "to protect and promote the reproduction of birds and mammals" in accordance with the 2002 Wildlife Protection and Hunting Law. The areas established have a maximum duration of twenty years and hunting is prohibited within them. Special Protection Areas (特別保護地区) are designated within the Wildlife Protection Areas in order to protect habitats and ecosystems.

Natural Habitat Conservation Areas or Natural Habitat Protection Areas in Japan are designated by the Ministry of the Environment to protect species of flora and fauna designated National Endangered Species, in accordance with the 1992 Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Both managed protection zones and buffer monitoring zones are established.

Taiwan Wild Bird Federation or TWBF is Taiwan's largest bird conservation organization and represents 21 groups throughout Taiwan and its outlying islands.

Protected Forests are areas of national forest in Japan so designated in an effort to conserve biodiversity. Japan's Protected Forest system includes three categories of protected forests: Forest Biosphere Reserves; Biotic Community Protection Forests; and Rare Population Protection Forests. Some of these national forests are linked by a network of Green Corridors that are also included in the system. Established in 1915, the system was overhauled in 2015 and expanded in 2019.

Amami-Ōshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island (奄美大島、徳之島、沖縄島北部及び西表島) is a serial UNESCO World Heritage Site consisting of five component parts on four Japanese islands in the Ryukyu Chain of the Nansei Islands. The site was selected in terms of biodiversity for having a diverse ecosystem of plant and animal species that are unique to the region.

References

↑ "Japan". BirdLife International . Retrieved 30 April 2022.
↑ 重要野鳥生息地の保全 [Conservation of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas] (in Japanese). Wild Bird Society of Japan . Retrieved 30 April 2022.

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[1] "Japan". BirdLife International . Retrieved 30 April 2022.

[2] 重要野鳥生息地の保全 [Conservation of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas] (in Japanese). Wild Bird Society of Japan . Retrieved 30 April 2022.

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